Little Fighter
by Lady of the Lost and Found
Summary: The Boys nightlife is interrupted when they get saddled with the responsibility of teaching a new and confused vampire the ropes of the Undead life. Yet when Big Brother comes to town and starts to meddle with the Boys, things spiral out of control.
1. Vampires at low tide

Greetings folks!

First and foremost, this is NOT a Fay story. Fay has nothing to do with this so if you were hoping for another Fay story I apologize and if you were hoping that it wasn't a Fay story, well kudos to you because today is your lucky day. As I was sewing the patches onto the jacket of my Halloween costume, Sarah popped into my head wearing said jacket and for the life of me I could not get rid of her. So, when in a situation like this the only thing that can be done is to write what has to be written.

I don't know where I'm going with this so I guess we'll just wait and see where Sarah and the Boys lead us and no, this is not another pointless relationship story...at least I don't think it is. Well whatever happens I'm sure that we'll both enjoy it. I figured that it was time I came back to the Boys in their origional form because it is the only way that I can get through writing the sequel.

This story is purely for my own weird amusement and no I don't own the Lost Boys as everyone on the planet already knows yaddady shmaddady. The lyrics are from the song "Little Fighter" by White Lion. As you may have already guessed, I always tend to name these stories and their chapters after the names of 70's and 80's rock and roll tunes.

Oh and before I say anything else, this story goes out to a good friend of mine who has helped me to discover and accept parts of myself via the Lost Boys and is most likely the true inspiration for this story. Many thanks Mammajon!

This one's for you.

Happy Reading!

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_A__re you cryin' tonight?  
Are you feelin' all right?  
I told the world that you were down on your luck _

You were one of a kind  
One who'd never give it up  
Even when they put a price on your head

Has anyone heard the tales you tell?  
Or seen the scars you wear?  
Did anyone speak up when you fell?  
Does anybody care?

Rise again little fighter  
And let the world know the reason why  
Shout again little fighter  
And don't let it impair the things you do

And you were one with the courts  
And a reason to be  
You were a fighter for peace on this earth

And you were never afraid  
You put your life on the line  
And you were always so long out on the sea

Without a weapon in your hand  
You came to fight a war  
They took your life but didnt know  
That you will never die

Rise again little fighter  
And let the world know the reason why  
Shout again little fighter  
And don't let it impair the things you do

Are you feelin' all right?  
Coz I care, care

Run along little fighter  
Oh coz I was there beside you  
Never stop believin', so rise  
Rise  
RISE!

Rise again little fighter  
And let the world know the reason why  
Shout again little fighter  
And don't let it impair the things you do

Rise again little fighter (Don't stop believin')  
And let the world know the reason why  
Shout again little fighter (And keep on movin')  
And don't let it impair the things you do

Yea, don't let it ever end the things you do

_Santa Carla, the murder capital of the world, is the home to the odds and ends of civilized American society. Every and any type of person can be found in the small way-side coastal town if you look close enough. But sometimes when you look too close, you start to see things that you really don't want to see. Like the thousands of Missing Persons notices for example. Or the overflowing cemeteries with their graffiti covered headstones. The list just goes on and on and on. But Santa Carla really isn't that bad of a town. Really, it's not. Carla's got quite the night life if you're into that thing and if you're not, then you shouldn't be here. You can't play with the big boys if you aren't prepared to get knocked around a bit and Santa Carla is as big and bad as they come. She's a tough old bitch all right and that's what I love about her. In Carla, it's kill or be killed. The killed part may be a real drag but I'll tell you this…the killing part is awesome and that's where we come in._

"Where is she? Dwayne where the hell did she go now? You were supposed watch her." David snapped as he stormed into the main cavern of the lair, looking extremely peeved. Wearing all black and sporting a bleached blonde mullet that only he could pull off, the leader of the small troupe of Carla vampires looked like a bad-ass sex god from the rock and roll world and the pissed off look on his face only added to his over-all appeal. Yep, David was quite the looker. Pity his personality hardly matched his appearance.

"I don't know man. I turned my back for one second and then she was gone. She couldn't have gotten far." Dwayne sighed softly as he ran his hand through his hair for the tenth time that night. It had been about two weeks and already their "problem child" had given him the slip more times than he cared to admit.

"You better be right. Check the Boardwalk, I'll hit the coast. She wouldn't go near the residential areas." David muttered as he yanked his trench coat off the back of a broken chair and threw it on, not missing a beat as he headed for the mouth of the cave with Dwayne at his heels.

"And if I find her?" Dwayne asked, fully knowing what the answer would be.

"Smack her and bring her back. And whatever you do don't let Max see you." David growled as he and Dwayne exited the cave and quickly made their way up the rickety wooden stairs that led to the top of the cliff. It took them about two seconds to mount their waiting motorcycles and speed off into the night, Dwayne heading towards the bright lights and sounds of the Boardwalk while David rode off into the night, leaving nothing but tire tracks in the sand as he headed towards Hudson's Bluff.

David muttered something under his breath as he squinted against the wind, slowing his bike to a stop as he peered out at the lighthouse that stood like a silent sentinel near the bluff, sending its powerful beam of light out into the dark Pacific waters. It was only a matter of time before the authorities closed the lighthouse down for good. Too many "suicides" were being committed in it and the locals were starting to get suspicious.

He gave the empty expanse around the bluff a quick once-over, his keen blue eyes missing nothing. Frowning slightly, he spotted a pair of footprints in the rocky dirt that led straight towards the bluff's edge. There was only one person in Santa Carla who wore a size eight boot with a large heart engraved in the sole of the heel. Bingo.

David killed the Triumphs engine before he kicked down the kickstand and dismounted, leaving the keys in the ignition because he knew that he wasn't going to be gone long. As silent as a shadow David walked to the bluff's edge and peered over it, his eyes searching the rocky outcropping below for any signs of life. The tide was out so the usually wave-covered boulders were uncovered and coated with layers of seaweed and other ocean debris so it would have been easy to miss the small denim clad figure perched on the edge of one of the larger boulders. But as per usual, David hardly missed a detail.

"How did you find me this time?" The girl said without looking over her shoulder at David as he landed silently on the boulder behind her, giving the receded tide line a guarded look.

David didn't bat an eyelash as he stepped forward and yanked the girl roughly to her feet by her arm, not releasing her as he turned her around to face him. The girl was shorter than him by a few inches even though she was wearing combat boots with three inch heels so when he seemed to tower over her, she slouched forward and refused to meet his gaze. He stared hard at her face before he said anything; taking note that the garish eye make-up and purple eye-liner that she wore was smudged and streaked as if she had been crying.

"You're the only vampire stupid enough to get this close to running water." David said as he tilted her chin up, forcing the girl to look at him. "You didn't." He said as he dropped his hand.

"I wanted to see if it was true." She said as she averted her eyes and stared at something over his shoulder, knowing that she was really going to hear it this time. "I didn't get far so drop it."

"Didn't get far? What? You thought that we were kidding around when we said what running water could do to us? Show me." He ordered as he released his hold on her arm, glancing down quickly to see that his glove was damp.

"No." She said as she took a step back and crossed her arms over her chest, the dangling charms that hung off the front pockets of her jean jacket tinkling softly as they bumped up against one another. David scowled as her and instead of doing what he told her, the girl looked down at her soggy boots, not budging an inch.

"Sarah, don't make me force you." David said softly, his voice quiet and in control as he resisted the urge to reach out and shake some sense into her. Sarah pursed her lips at the sound of his voice and just shook her head, her frizzy curls shaking every which way as she refused once again. David gritted his teeth in annoyance as he closed his eyes for a second while his hands clenched into fists, his vampire self coming out in full force. When he opened his eyes Sarah was staring at him wide-eyed as she tried to hide her fear behind a look of nonchalance. All David had to do was arch an eyebrow to break through her hastily made barrier and after a second Sarah scowled at him before she crouched down on the boulder and pulled up the wet legs of her patched jeans, revealing the black calf-length boots underneath. Wincing slightly, she carefully pulled down the zipper of the right boot and eased her foot out of it.

"You only went knee deep?" David asked her as he crouched down beside her to look over her foot which was a painful shade of blue, purple and white. Her foot looked like it had been frost bitten.

"Not even." Sarah said as she hissed softly between her teeth when David gently touched her ankle, bending her foot back and forth to make sure that it wasn't as serious as it looked.

"And the other foot?" David asked, glancing up at her.

"The same." Sarah murmured as she balanced on one leg, trying to keep herself from swaying sideways. David frowned and reached to unzip the other boot, not believing her. "I swear it is I'm not lying." Sarah said quickly as she tried to take a step back but the second she put her bare foot on the slick surface of the boulder she let out a sharp yelp as the pain intensified tenfold and caused the muscles in her legs to cramp. If David hadn't caught her she would have fallen off the boulder and landed on a few rather unpleasantly sharp rocks that were beside it.

"I'll look at it when we're back at the cave. It doesn't look like it'll be permanent and you're lucky." David muttered as he put her back on her feet, allowing her to lean on him as she carefully put her foot back into the boot. "Next time you listen to what we tell you and quit taking what we say for granted." He growled as she dug her nails into his upper arm as she zipped up the boot, cursing quietly under her breath as she did so.

"And the next time you pull another stunt like this I'll leave you out here and let the sun take care of you. Do you understand me?" He said with a sharp edge to his voice as he drove his point home, frowning in satisfaction at the soft sigh she let out.

Enough was enough and he had just about had it with her little pranks. Last night she had leapt off a bridge to test the theory of whether or not vampires could fly and if it hadn't been for Marko's quick actions, she would have been nothing but a broken heap of bones if she had hit the bottom of the ravine.

Like most newly turned vampires Sarah's powers were still out of whack, but her inability to fly was something that David found puzzling. Usually new vampires could instantly float for a few seconds or minutes if needed be but when Sarah had jumped, she had plummeted like a stone. Maybe she was one of those rare cases where the vampire never attains the ability to fly and if so, David knew that they were going to have their work cut out for them.

"Did you feed at least?" He asked her and rolled his eyes at the dark look she gave him. "Sarah when was the last time you killed something" He asked her as she carefully stepped away from him, self-consciously trying to wipe away the smudged make-up under her eyes.

"Tuesday." She said quietly as she turned her back to him and used the edge of her torn shirt to get most of the eye-liner off.

David turned his eyes upward and shook his head. Perfect, just perfect.

"Sarah, its Friday. You know that right? It's been three days. What did I tell you about holding out…" He started with the speech, figuring that this was the fifth time he had to say it to her.

"I know, I know! I just…I couldn't tonight; I don't know what it was. I tried David but…tomorrow night. I promise I'll do it tomorrow." She said as she gnawed her lower lip nervously. Sarah knew what was coming and there was nowhere that she could to run to or hide.

David shook his head slightly as he adjusted his gloves and reverted back into his human visage once more.

"That's what you said yesterday." David said as he gazed at her steadily, calling her on her bluff.

"C'mon David don't do this." Sarah whined softly. With her feet the way they were and the fact that she hadn't fed in three days, there was no way that she could out-run him even if she tried. David's expression didn't change as he motioned towards the cliff with a nod of his head. "David…" She tried once more but when he blinked Sarah sighed and hung her head. Without saying another word she carefully climbed off the boulder and began to pick her way towards the small steep trail that she had used to climb down the cliff face. She listened carefully and when she heard David's footsteps close behind her she quickly made up her mind and acted instantaneously on her hasty decision. Before David knew what she was up to, Sarah lashed out with a foot and kicked him square in the groin with her heel. Simultaneously both vampires let out a holler of pain, Sarah for her injured foot and David for…well, you know…and as David fell to his knees, Sarah clenched her teeth together and took off as fast as she could. She wasn't moving very fast by vampire standards but from a human perspective she was just a colorful blur streaking up the cliff trail.

"Fuck!" David swore loudly as he climbed to his feet, every move he made painful but that pain was quickly becoming a dull throb. Growling harshly, his eyes flashed orange as he launched himself into the air, taking to the sky in a gust of wind. Sarah gotten about a hundred yards from the bluff's edge before David swooped down on her and crashed into her, knocking her to the ground from the force of the impact.

"Let go of me!" She shrieked as David wrapped his arms around her, pinning her flailing hands to her side as he stood up and dragged her over to where the Triumph was. All David did was growl in anger as she tried to kick him again, moving to the side so that her kicks missed his legs.

"Quit it!" David snapped as Sarah screamed out again, louder this time. Instead of obeying the girl wriggled and lunged, doing everything she could think of in order to get free but David's iron grip was impossible to break.

"David let me go! Let me go! Let….go!" She cried as she managed to half-turn and as she did so her teeth found David's gloved hand.

"Argh! Shit!" David yelled as she bit him as hard as she could, her teeth going right through the leather and into the back of his right hand.

Sarah managed to work her way free all right but the blow David struck her knocked her clear off her feet for the second time in three minutes. This time Sarah stayed down, her shoulders shaking as she curled up into a protective ball, her arms covering her head in order to hide her face from view.

David swore once more as he wrenched his glove off and inspected the damage that Sarah's fangs had done. She had bit him clear to the bone but already his skin was starting to repair itself. In about ten minutes there would be no trace of the wound.

"Sarah I swear you try that again and I'll…" David growled as he reached down to pull her to her feet. As he touched her arm he quickly leapt back with a surprised growl as Sarah snapped at him again, her orange eyes wild looking as she slowly got into a crouch, eyeing him warily.

"This is what happens when you don't feed." David muttered under his breath and he shook his head in annoyance. He had been trying to avoid something like this for the past two days but he knew it was only a matter of time before the girl went full-frontal out-of-control vampire. Well, there was only one thing for it. David growled dangerously at Sarah, his vampire side appearing, as he took off his other glove and stuffed it in his pocket so that he would have free use of his hands. Instead of attacking him as he expected, Sarah just scurried away from him, growling out in warning. Lowering his head slightly David locked eyes with the girl and bared his fangs, a low snarl coming from deep within his chest as he tried to provoke her to attack. Sarah hissed like an alley cat as she bared her own fangs but still she refused to move forward. Instead the girl started looking for a way out.

"C'mon!" David roared as he rushed her and stopped a few feet from her, trying to coax the response he was looking for. Sarah growled once more, becoming more agitated as he got closer but still the half-deranged vampire refused to fight. If David couldn't dominate her in this form, as was the traditional way in dealing with unpredictable half-starved vampires, then he would have no choice but to do what he had to do in order to get her to submit, even if it meant killing her.

Such was the twisted way of the vampire.

"C'mon." He muttered quietly under his breath as he saw her tense, preparing to lunge at him as he stood there, fangs bared in challenge. A scared half-snarl came from her as she narrowed her eyes and snapped her jaws, not knowing what to do and before she could make up her mind, another vampire joined the fray and startled her into action

"Gotcha!" Paul cried loudly as he literally dive-bombed from out of nowhere and took a mock swipe at her in order to drive her towards David. Sarah shrieked in surprise, the sound coming up somewhere between nails on a black board and a dying rabbit, and bolted forward as she whirled around, sharpened nails slashing the air where Paul had been only moments before. As Paul danced out of her reach and kept egging her on David waited a split second in order to make his move and as Paul ducked quickly in order to avoid her nails, David struck from behind with enough force to stun the girl.

"Impeccable timing Paul." David muttered as he lowered Sarah onto the rock-strewn sand, gingerly flexing his right hand as he did so.

"Well I was in the neighborhood and I figured that you could use a hand." Paul chuckled as he shifted back into his human form, a cheeky smirk appearing on his lips as he glanced down at Sarah who was out cold for now. "What was it _this _time?"

"What do you think?" David muttered as he undid the buckle of his leather belt and pulled it out of the belt loops of his jeans. "Give me yours." He said as he knelt down and quickly lashed Sarah's hands behind her back with the belt, making sure that it was tight enough so that she couldn't break free when she came to. The same went for her ankles but David made sure not to cut off the circulation to her feet, least he make situation worse than it already was.

"Now what?" Paul asked after he handed David his studded belt.

David sat back on the balls of his feet and rubbed his hands over his face as he sighed tiredly. "Can you or Marko pick off one of the runaways on the beach? The last thing we need right now is for her to die on us. Max would have a field day with that." David muttered darkly as he glanced up at Paul who scowled slightly and shoved his hands into the pockets of his tailed coat.

"Why the hell did we get stuck with the babysitting? She's not ours. She's Max's problem." Paul murmured as he gave David a knowing look.

"And we answer to Max so whatever Max says goes Paul. She's our responsibility for as long as he says so. Hey, I don't like it any more than you do. Do you really think that I enjoy hunting her down every night only to have to drag her back to the cave and do it all again the next night? I'd rather get rid of her and be done with it." David said as he rose to his feet, carefully looking around quickly to make sure that they were alone on the bluff.

"Then why don't you?" Paul asked quietly, so quietly in fact that David almost missed what he said.

"I would if I knew we could get away with it. But Max knows exactly what he's doing and if anything happens to her, it'll just give him an excuse to have all our heads on a plate. We want to get rid of her, he wants to get rid of us, it's so simple it almost hurts." David murmured quietly as he pulled his leather gloves out of his coat pockets and slipped them back on.

"I really hate that guy." Paul said before he spat off to the side, the mere mention of Max's name leaving a foul taste in his mouth.

"We all do. Even her. But right now there's nothing we can do about it but grin and bear it." David said as he bent over and gathered Sarah in his arms as if she weighed no more than a child and headed over to the Triumph while Paul trailed along behind him, grumbling under his breath. "If you run into Dwayne tell him to meet me at the cave. I'm not wasting the rest of the night force feeding her when she wakes up. Dwayne was supposed to watch her tonight so he can do it." David said as he swung his leg over the side of the motorcycle and settled Sarah in front of him so that she was leaning against his chest as he keyed the ignition and kicked the bike to life.

"I'll tell him. He won't be happy but whatever. See you in ten." Paul said as he gave David a mock salute and leapt into the air, taking off like a shot while David carefully guided his bike around and sped off back to the cave, silently cursing Max with every foul name he knew.


	2. The names on the wall

**Greets all!**

**Wow I am really glad that you guys are liking this story. Writing this next chapter I discovered many things that I thought I knew but really didn't and suddenly my appreciation for David has doubled since the last time I said a nice thing about the guy. I guess when Fay's not around to man-bash things turn out a lot different...just don't tell her I said that or else I might get a five-pound frozen lasagna to the head. I hope you guys like this next chapter and I tried to write it as fast as I could DracoMalfoylover! Instead of writing an essay I ended up writing this thing for ya. **

Enjoy guys!

Happy Reading

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"_Why am I always the one who gets used as the scapegoat whenever something happens around here huh?"_

"_Scapegoat? Dwayne don't give me that crap, not now."_

"_You're not sidestepping this one again David. The kid takes off and automatically it's somehow my fault. What's the deal?"_

"_Deal? You want to know what the deal is? Alright, fine. Tonight was your night to watch her and make sure she fed so that we wouldn't have another repeat of what happened last week. But instead of doing what you were supposed to do, you let her run off and then I'm the one who has to go find her and I'm the one who ends up dealing with all that shit and I'm the one who has to explain to Max why his new pet is being a right pain in the ass. That's the deal Dwayne so deal with it." _

"_Oh ho! Don't go making yourself into a martyr David because this time it's not just about you. Somewhere out there the world's tiniest violin is playing just for you and you know what? No one cares. You think that when Max gets pissed off you're the only one who has to put up with him? There are four of us in this pack David and I don't know if you realize this but when something happens to one of us, it affects the rest of us." _

"_Don't get philosophical on my ass Dwayne. Just get it over with before sunrise or else you'll be the one that'll explain to Max why that little brat isn't being the perfect little vampire." _

"_Yo…what's goin' on?"_

"_Stay out of this Marko, it doesn't concern you."_

"_Since when does pack affairs not concern me?"_

"_Great…do you see what you started Dwayne?"_

"_Fuck off David."_

"_You fuck off."_

"_Hey! Why don't both of you fuck off because you're acting like a bunch of fags."_

"_Oh shut up Marko."_

"_Don't tell me to shut up David!"_

The heated argument continued in the main cavern as David, Dwayne and Marko went head-to-head in an all-out verbal battle that was loud enough to send their voices echoing throughout the narrow channels and small side-caves that were scattered deep within the rocky cliff face. Fully conscious and alert, Sarah listened to three vampires snarl at each other as she gritted her teeth while trying to work her hands free of their binding. Trying very hard not to make a sound Sarah whimpered softly into her shoulder as she twisted her right arm to the side and yanked back as hard as she could and after a few moments of resistance her thin wrist slipped out of the belt and her arms were finally free. Working quickly, Sarah sat up and picked away at Paul's belt that was tied around her ankles and it didn't take her long to work the knots from the studded leather.

Sighing quietly to herself Sarah rested her forehead against her knees as she gently massaged her throbbing ankles while wondering what her next course of action would be. There was no back way out of the caves so the only way out was through the main cave that was currently occupied by David and company and it didn't take a genius to figure out that sunrise was not that far off so that left Sarah with very few options.

"What am I doing?" She asked herself as she gripped the side of the rock wall and hauled herself painfully to her feet. The small cavern that she was in had been designated as "her room" since the boys all slept hanging upside-down in the wasted elevator shaft and had made it clear that she was not allowed nor invited to set foot anywhere near their sleeping nook which actually suited her just fine. She was satisfied with staying hidden in her little hole in the wall because the more she stayed there the less chance she had of getting in the way.

"God I just want to go home." She murmured out-loud as she tugged nervously at her hair and quickly tied it back with a black scrunchie so that it would stay out of her face.

"You're never goin' home." Paul's voice made her jump when he spoke up behind her. Sarah slowly turned around to see the metal-head standing in the niche entrance and she automatically took a step back in order to put a fair amount of distance between herself and the tall vampire.

"What do you want?" She asked in a cautious tone as she quickly looked around, making sure that the others were not about to come popping out of the woodwork as they sometimes did.

Paul snorted as he shook his head in disgust and Sarah couldn't help retreating a few more steps which only seemed to annoy him further.

"What I want is for you to wake up and realize that you're not in Kansas anymore Dorothy. You're stuck in Oz and there is no way in hell that you'll ever go back to that two-story house with the white picket fence of yours. Do you really think that you can just waltz back to whatever life you had and all this will just go away?" He asked her as he crossed his arms over his chest, his dark blue eyes never leaving her as he just stared at her, enjoying her growing uneasiness.

"Go away Paul." Sarah said as she stood where she was, meeting his gaze even though she didn't want to.

"Make me." Paul smirked as he took a step forward and watched Sarah tense up at his slight approach.

"I won't ask you again Paul, please leave." Sarah said tightly as she crossed her arms in front of her, making herself as small as possible as she eyed him warily, not knowing what kind of game he was trying to play. Whatever it was she wanted no part in it.

Paul just rolled his eyes and glanced around the small bare cavern as he ignored her demand and kept walking forward. Instead of stopping in front of the girl, Paul walked around her, enjoying the rising tension as he put her on the spot. He stopped suddenly just off to the right and flicked a speck of rubble off her shoulder, that subtle gesture startling Sarah and when she whirled around and growled at him Paul backed off a few steps with a wicked grin on his face.

"Trust me kid I'm the least of your worries." He snorted as Sarah narrowed her eyes slightly, trying to make herself look somewhat fierce. To Paul she just looked like his kid sister trying to be a bad-ass version of Debbie Gibson but instead of looking all tough and sexy, she looked cute…as in the girl-next-door kind of cute. The effect was really funny.

"Don't laugh at me." Sarah muttered darkly as Paul chuckled out-loud. She scowled at him but instead of shutting him up, he just laughed louder.

"Ah god kid, you'll never be one of us." He mused as he gave her a knowing look which chased the scowl off that innocent face of hers.

"Thank god for that. Like the day I ever want to be "one of you." I'd get a reality check before that ever happened." She sniffed as she brushed past him, the dozens of tiny charms hanging off her jacket tinkling in time with her stride. She curled up on the edge of the unmade double bed that was the only piece of furniture in the cavern and stared at the wall in front of her, refusing to look at Paul.

"Well it won't so don't get your hopes up." He said as he casually picked at a loose thread on the cuff of his tailed jacket. A nerve in Sarah's jaw twitched as she tried to think of a nasty comeback but when none came to mind she spat out the first thing she could think of.

"What happened to the others?" She asked and smiled inwardly when she saw the half confused/half surprised look on Paul's face.

"What others?" He asked, playing dumb as he watched her with suspicious eyes.

"The other ones like me, the ones that came before me." She said as she turned in order to face him as she stayed on the bed. She had to keep her head slightly tilted so that she could meet his eyes as she waited for the answer to the question that had been on her mind for the past week.

"Before you? I don't know what you're talkin' about girl." Paul said before he turned and headed out of the cavern, a slight frown on his face that Sarah couldn't see as he walked away.

"Paul you may be a bad-ass vampire, but you're a lousy liar." Sarah said loudly, making sure that Paul heard her. "What happened to Tiffany and Jennifer and Deborah and Laura and…Sabrina? Am I missing anyone? Oh yeah, and what about Victoria? Hmmm? What happened to her?"

Paul paused just as he reached the cavern entrance and even though he was so close, he couldn't walk out of the room. She knew…somehow the kid knew. "How do you know about them?" He asked quietly as he glanced over his shoulder. Sarah nodded as she looked down at her hands that were in her lap, debating whether or not to tell him.

"Their names are carved into the wall behind the bed. So, did they suddenly decide to get up and walk away one day? We both know how impossible that is." She said as she began to gnaw on her fingernails, not sure if she wanted to hear the truth but she was just too curious to turn back now. Paul sighed as he closed his eyes for a moment and sent David a mental nudge before he stepped away from the entrance and moved back into the cavern.

In the main cave David paused for a second as he frowned and glanced over at the narrow tunnel that led to Sarah's room before Marko made a sarcastic remark that brought him back into the argument.

"How much do you know?" Paul asked Sarah as he tried to stall for time. He really didn't want to be the one to spill the beans about Max's past "pets" and he hoped that David would be able to bail him out before Sarah got too much information out of him. The girl was right when she called him a lousy liar; he didn't have the silver tongue that David had which was why he was the one who almost always landed himself on Max's "Problem" list. And that's problem with a capital "P".

"Just their names…and that one of them liked Duran Duran." Sarah said as she motioned to the lyrics scrawled in black marker on the far wall.

"Yeah, that was Jen." Paul said as his eyed the girlish scribbles with an almost wistful look on his face. Out of them all he had liked Jennifer the most. She had a lot of spunk and was almost as reckless as he was and their taste in music ran parallel to each other.

"Oh." Sarah murmured before silence filled the cavern. "So…what happened?"

"What do you think?" Paul snapped as he shook off the memories and brought himself back into the present. Sarah winced as if he had struck her and that little reaction triggered a nerve within him. "Oh don't start cryin'." He growled harshly as Sarah blinked rapidly and turned her face away, doing her best to keep herself from bawling like a cry baby as the truth of it all hit her. Paul didn't have to explain it in words for Sarah to get it. His reaction was enough to let her know that the girls that used to occupy this little room were no long part of the living…or the undead for that matter.

"I'm not." Sarah choked as she bit her tongue to stop herself from sniffling. "Why did he do it? There were six of them…why?" Sarah asked as Paul began to pace the room like an agitated panther, growling softly under his breath as he became more annoyed.

"Because he got bored of them, they pissed him off, they didn't do what he wanted them to…pick one." Paul shot at her and for a moment he felt a twinge pity for Sarah as she seemed to crumble in front of his eyes. Yet the moment he did a wave of self-disgust washed over him and buried any sympathy he had for the girl. He shouldn't care about her, she wasn't his problem.

"Will…will my name be on the wall?" Sarah asked in a small voice as she hugged her knees to her chest. She stared up at him with scared eyes and Paul's silence tipped her over the edge of her shaky self-control.

"_FUUUUUUUCK!"_ She screamed as she burst into hysterical tears and Paul stayed where he was as she freaked out in front of him.

"Why didn't you stop him? Why didn't you guys help them?" Sarah sobbed as she staggered from the bed, her hands clutching her chest as she sank to the ground as her legs went out from under her. Paul steeled himself and said nothing as he stood there like some sort of unremorseful statue as Sarah's pleading questions dabbled off into painful sobs as she wailed like a dying animal.

What was he going to say? That he and the others had stood by and watched as Max dragged the girls out of the cave kicking and screaming and instead of protesting they just turned a blind eye and tried to ignore it the best they could? That if they tried to protect any of the girls in any way from Max that they would end up sharing the same fate? That Max literally had them by the balls and they couldn't do a damn thing to stop him least they end up ripped to shreds because they had pushed him too far? He couldn't tell her that so he said nothing.

"You…bastards. You did nothing didn't you? You did nothing! They were killed and you guys did _nothing!_" Sarah shrieked as she struggled to her feet, her hands shaking so badly that she could hardly get a firm grip on the bedpost. Paul glowered as he hunched his shoulders and walked away because if he continued to stand there he might do something that he'd end up regretting big time.

Like most girls stuck in a terrifying situation that would most likely end in their ultimate demise at the hand of a dastardly undead tyrant, Sarah's actions were not all that surprising but still, Paul didn't see it coming. With an unearthly screech of pure loathing Sarah threw herself on Paul as he exited the cavern and his harsh cry of pain brought the others running.

"_You son-of-a-bitch! You'll let him kill me and you won't do a damn thing! Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!"_

"Whoa!" Marko cried as he skidded sharply to a halt just as Dwayne ran into him from behind. "Holy shit!" Marko swore loudly as Paul was flung up against the rock wall with Sarah hanging onto his back with her teeth. There was blood everywhere.

"Get her off me!" Paul yelled as he tried to wrench the psychotic vampire off of him but Sarah viciously savaged his hand with her nails as she went at him with tooth and claw, screaming profanity as she did so.

"_God damn you all! YOU WON'T DO A DAMN THING!" _

"Don't just stand there!" David shouted as he charged head-first into the fray, brushing past Dwayne and Marko as Paul tripped and landed on his face while Sarah tried to rip his throat open. He blocked her attack with his arm and hollered out as she bit him to the bone and shook her head like a dog, wrenching his arm from side-to-side.

"Get her legs!" Dwayne commanded to Marko as he leapt in after David as Sarah screamed out something so foul that even he was slightly taken aback. David and Dwayne struck at the same time and wrenched Sarah off of Paul with difficulty as she kept trying to get at the wounded vampire, even when David picked her up by her hair.

"_Bastards!_" Sarah shrieked in David's face as she struck like lightning, scratching the left side of his face with her nails before he could stop her. Without batting an eyelash David threw her over his shoulder and into the cavern as Dwayne and Marko leapt past him and launched themselves onto Sarah before she could rise to her feet. Screams, curses, snarls and roars came from the cavern as the two boys fought to keep the hysterical vampire down. Despite the adrenalin rush and the rage, between the two of them Dwayne and Marko finally managed to subdue Sarah while David hastily carried Paul out of the corridor.

"Enough's enough." David growled under his breath as he carefully laid Paul on the wrecked four-poster bed that was shoved into a corner of the cave. Paul snarled in pain as David ripped his jacket off in order to see what kind of damage Sarah had done. There was a lot of blood from numerous bites and deep scratches but Paul's wounds looked a lot worse than they really were. He'd be fine by tomorrow night.

"Fuck that chick's psycho." Paul growled as David lifted his injured arm and peered closely at the circular gash near his elbow. With expert fingers David dug out half a fang that was embedded in Paul's arm and both of them stared at it for a few seconds. David's face darkened as he flung the tooth away and Paul's eyes widened when David reached down and snapped off a jagged piece of the busted wooden bed frame.

"Wait David…" Paul said as he struggled to sit up and quickly made a grab for David with his good arm, grabbing the edge of the vampire leader's coat as David turned to head back to the cavern. "She knows man, she knows." Paul and David looked at one another for a moment and when David turned away from Paul once more, he dropped the make-shift stake. Paul let out an exhausted sigh as he flopped back onto the dusty bed while David stalked into the corridor, vanishing into the shadows.

"Get…off…me." Sarah hissed as she struggled once more against Dwayne's powerful embrace, but with Dwayne's arms wrapped around her like iron bands there was no way that she could anything else but struggle.

"Calm down." Dwayne growled in her ear as he kept her pinned under him while Marko literally sat on her legs to keep her from kicking them in the head, which she had almost succeeded in doing, twice.

"Let her up." David said as he walked into the cavern with the unconscious figure of the thirteen year old runaway that Paul had snatched from the Boardwalk slung over his shoulder. Marko nodded and leapt off of Sarah and quickly moved out of kicking distance while Dwayne glanced up at David with a questioning look. "Let her up." David said once more, his tone carrying an authoritative edge that Dwayne couldn't ignore. Slowly Dwayne eased his hold on Sarah and when she stopped struggling against him he let her go and stood. When Sarah didn't spring at them like a demented hellcat Dwayne looked at David once more before he motioned Marko to follow him. Without saying a word, the two walked out of the cavern and left David alone with Sarah.

"Get up." David said as he dropped the boy onto the floor near Sarah and watched with an expressionless face as Sarah quickly scooted away from the human, her eyes on David.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way." David said as he shrugged off his trench coat and tossed it onto the bed. Sarah watched with guarded eyes as he took off the leather jacket he always wore underneath the trench coat and threw it onto the bed alongside the first coat. Without his jackets David looked slightly smaller and less bulky than he normally did. Wearing only a tight black t-shirt that had defiantly seen better days, David had a lean, sinuous cat-like build that was always hidden under the heavy coats. This however did nothing to stifle the intimidating aura that clung to him like a second shadow. Instead it only seemed to intensify it.

Sarah stayed where she was as she looked from David and then to the unconscious boy lying on the floor, her face streaked with blood but human looking. David waited for Sarah to make up her mind and when she refused to rise and stayed where she was, he acted accordingly, not giving her a moment's chance to react.

"It's the hard way then." He said as he moved like greased lightning, appearing behind her in a heartbeat before he grabbed her by the arms and locked them behind her back while forcing her to her knees all within the time span of five seconds. As expected Sarah tried to break David's hold and as she leaned forward David wrapped his free arm around her neck, locking her head in place as he forced her to crawl forward.

"Damn you!" Sarah hissed as she tried to resist but David's strength was just too much for her and despite the curses and the threats, Sarah crawled forward on her knees until she was beside the boy. David didn't say anything as he unwrapped his arm and the second he did so Sarah whipped her head back in an attempt to head butt him. He grunted when the blow caught him in the chest but when he clamped his hand on the back of her neck, Sarah froze.

"Do it." David ordered as Sarah stared at the young boy's bare neck, unable to pry her eyes away from the delicate skin. Now this was the tricky part. As the old saying goes "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink", and the same concept applies to vampires. David may not know anything about horses but he as sure as hell knew everything there was to know about vampires and force feeding a reluctant vampire was quite the challenge. But like most things in life, there was a way around the troublesome situation.

"Don't fight it. Fighting it only makes it worse. Just relax." David said quietly, his voice barely going above a murmur as he slowly forced Sarah's head down, making sure to keep her arms pinned tightly behind her as he used his weight to get her to bend. Despite his words Sarah struggled to keep herself upright as David knew she would. Allowing his vampire side to come through, David growled softly as he firmly nipped Sarah on the shoulder, hard enough to get her to react but not hard enough to break skin.

"Cheater." Sarah gasped as her fangs descended on their own accord. With David's teeth so close to her skin the tension in her slowly ebbed away as her instinctive urges rose to the surface and for a moment she actually did relax. David wasn't fool enough to believe that she could go the rest of the way unaided and his intuition proved true when Sarah stopped a few inches from the boy's throat and wouldn't budge. Adjusting his stance, David did what had to be done and Sarah yelped in pain as he twisted her right arm sharply. The second she opened her mouth he practically threw all of his weight onto her back and forced her head down so that her fangs were buried into the boy's neck. At first Sarah kicked up a fuss as she struggled to wrench herself away from the boy but David held firm and the more Sarah struggled the deeper her fangs went. David held her there as she reluctantly began to drain the kid, even after she stopped fighting and succumbed to the temptations of the blood lust and only when every last drop of blood was taken did he release his hold and stepped back.

"I hate you." Sarah said when David let her go. She didn't try to attack him or leap off the walls or do any of the things she had been doing minutes before. Instead she just sat there, dejected and defeated while David watched her closely. Without a word, David stepped over the dead body and walked out of the room. Sarah ran the back of her hand over her mouth to wipe away any traces of the forced meal and she counted to thirty in her head before she stood up and went over to the bed and sat down on the edge, listening carefully. Had she realized that David's jackets were still on the bed and that he had left them there on purpose, she would never had tried to force herself to throw up, which was what David was waiting for.

Sarah closed her eyes as she concentrated on the contents of her stomach and as she shoved her fingers down her throat David swooped back into the room and wrenched her hand away from her mouth but not before Sarah started to gag. Growling softly David clamped his hand over her mouth as he wrapped himself around Sarah and forced her to lie back on the bed.

"Swallow." He said as he forced her to look him in the eye. She gagged violently but luckily nothing came up while David kept direct eye contact as he murmured softly, using his voice to lull Sarah into a state of calm before she could vomit all over him.

"Sarah…Sarah relax…relax…that's it…just relax." He whispered as she gagged once more before she swallowed hard. "That's it…"He said as he took his hand away from her mouth as she started to tremble under his touch.

"He's going to kill me." Sarah whispered in a scared voice as she stared at David with hopelessness etched on her face. No wonder the kid didn't want to keep the blood down; she was scared out of her mind about something that might happen to her.

David lightly touched her forehead with his index and middle finger as he willed her to sleep, performing the same mind trick that Paul had done to the boy in order to keep the boy under and in an instant Sarah closed her eyes and stopped shaking.

"Well this is just great. Now what do we do?" Dwayne asked quietly from behind as David slowly untangled himself and rolled off the bed, grabbing his jackets as he did so. Dwayne watched as David donned the jackets, reverting back to his usual controlled self before he picked up the dead boy and carried the body under one arm.

"The sun is going to rise soon so there's no point in discussing this now. Tomorrow night we figure out what has to be done." David said as Dwayne took the body from him. He was the one who was supposed to make sure that the girl feed tonight so it was his responsibility to get rid of the evidence which meant another weighted body far below the tide line. Dwayne stood to the side as David left the chamber and as he adjusted his grip, Dwayne looked over at Sarah fast asleep on the bed and shook his head.

"Tough break kid." He murmured to himself before he left to take care of what had to be taken care of.


	3. The odd couple, Ian and Tory

**Hola amigos!**

**First off, muchos thanks for the reviews. I'm really glad that you like the idea of this story. I was a little worried that it wasn't going to fly and that I'd end up falling flat on my face. But judging from what you guys have been saying, I won't have to worry about making an utter fool of myself for the time being. **

**Anywho, here's chapter three and this is will be the last update until around the beginning of December. Hopefully I can get a House chapter out before next week but chances are next to none. So enjoy this one and Mommajon I hope I did ya justice.,**

**Happy Reading.**

* * *

The Boardwalk was like a giant mural of colours, sounds, smells and emotions. People shifted and flowed like the tide as they meandered about their regular every-day lives, worrying about whatever it was they had to worry about on the late June evening. There was so much to see and so much to do, it was almost impossible to stand still for even a moment. Everyone was too enwrapped within their own little worlds to pay the slightest attention to the small, run-down looking electronics store that was wedged awkwardly between a large fast food joint and a colorfully painted thrift store.

A group of homeless punks loitered in front of the thrift store, laughing raucously as they eyed the teenagers that cautiously edged past them, refusing to look at the multi-coloured, pierced and tattooed hooligans who leered and let out cat-calls for kicks. Sarah kept her eyes downcast as she trudged towards the pack. Trying to blend in with the rest of the crowd, Sarah pretended that she didn't see the looks and unfriendly eyes that followed her like tractor beams. Giving the group a wide enough berth the sixteen year old managed to walk past unscathed and it was only when she heard the group throw insults at another target did she slow down and relax a little.

She had made it through unscathed.

Sarah had been roaming the Boardwalk all night by herself after she had given David her word that she wouldn't try to pull any stupid stunts nor "wander" off into the night. It was clear from the moment when she awoke that the tension she felt between the boys wasn't her overactive imagination playing tricks on her. Something had them bothered and she was pretty sure that that something had to do with her. David and the others didn't want her around tonight and she was more than happy to get out of their hair and keep herself company while they did whatever it was that they had to do.

"_This is Carol Harper with a special news bulletin. Police Chief Henry Morton confirmed that last night's triple homicide is in fact linked to the string of murders and suspicious suicides that have taken place within the course last three weeks. Police Chief Morton did not mention if the killings were done by a singular individual or a group of potentially psychotic killers." _

Sarah stopped suddenly and snapped her head to the side, her left ear cocked slightly as she listened carefully. A last year's model of a 12 inch television glowed brightly through the glass window of the electronics shop as the Late Night Santa Carla News came on. A woman with neatly style blonde hair stared out from the glass screen as people walked past the window without seeing or hearing what the anchor woman had to say. It was if they couldn't hear the news…or they didn't care.

"_Police Chief Morton did state that all the incidents did occur between the time of twelve am to four am and that the citizens of Santa Carla should be off the streets before midnight as a safety precaution. Mayor Grimshaw has yet to declare a city-wide curfew but if the murders continue, he will be forced to take drastic measures until the culprit or culprits are apprehended." _

"Damn." Sarah muttered softly to herself as she watched the anchor woman go on about the rise in city's crime and death rate as well as the epidemic of missing people that seemed to have risen drastically within the last six months. Even though the boys were being careful, people were starting to catch on that something was amiss in their little city and when Max found out, he wasn't going to be happy.

Cringing at the thought, Sarah turned away from the window and quickly glanced up and down the crowded boardwalk, trying to decide where she should lay low for a little while in order to get away from the nerve wracking swarm of people. Without meaning to Sarah glanced in the punks direction and her far-away look caused them to stand up and take notice that she was supposedly staring at them. The thing about these kids was that they didn't like being stared at.

"What're you lookin' at?" Growled a man with a shaven head and multiple piercings on his face as he spat a wad of chewing tobacco in Sarah's direction. The group cackled like a pack of hyenas as Sarah jumped in surprise, caught completely off-guard as she snapped back to reality and eyed the older punks with a guarded look. Instead of responding Sarah just glanced away and chewed on her lower lip, still at a loss as to what she should do next.

"What's the matter kid? You lost your mommy?" A girl with a fire-hydrant red Mohawk asked as she chewed nosily on a wad of chewing gum. Her pack mates snickered amongst each other as they watched the little scene unfold, eagerly expecting for some fun in tormenting the confused girl who appeared to be a mute. "What? We're not good enough for ya to talk to? Is that it? Huh? Hey girl I'm talkin' to you so look at me when I'm talkin'."

Red Head stepped towards Sarah and frowned darkly when Sarah automatically took a step back, still not saying a word.

"Ya know somethin' Johnny, I don't like the way this little brat is lookin' at me. She's got consorted eyes. I hate that." Red Head mused out loud as she made a show of sizing Sarah up with her eyes, her heavily painted lips curling into a cruel smirk as she cracked her bejeweled knuckles.

"It's conceited Meg. She's got conceited eyes not consorted." A guy with long black hair that was tied back with a black bandana snorted as he leaned against the wall of the thrift store, looking completely bored by all this.

"Oh yeah? Shut your mouth Hank." Meg (Read Head) snapped as she shot a filthy look at him. The guy just laughed at her and stuck his tattooed hands into the pockets of his studded leather jacket, which only seemed to annoy Meg further. When the girl turned back to Sarah, the look on her face was anything but pleasant.

Sarah retreated further as she prepared to make a break for it because she figured if she went at the loud-mouth then the rest of the group would join in and six against one wasn't a good odd, especially against six really tall people who looked like they could skin the hide off a cat without batting an eyelash. Sarah curled her hands into tight fists within the pockets of her decked-out jean jacket but refused to rise to the challenge as she kept her eyes down and moved to the side, making sure that she never turned her back on the older girl.

David had taught her to never expose her back to a potential enemy and finally it looked like his never-ending lectures were starting to pay off. But David never told her what she should do if she found herself in a potentially dangerous situation while being out-numbered and in the public eye.

"Don't you go playin' little Miss Know-Nothin' with me missy. Your little daddy's girl act isn't foolin' anyone. You're no better than the rest of us but at least we got the balls to admit it." Meg hissed as she rounded on Sarah, getting in her face in order to force some sort of reaction out of the quiet girl.

"What's your problem?" Sarah asked as she raised her eyes and stared Meg in the face, looking slightly upwards in order to do so. That was the problem with being 5'3; everyone was taller than her by a good couple of inches.

Meg smiled venomously for a moment before she snorted and turned away from Sarah as if in disgust. However that was only a ploy to catch Sarah off-guard because a split second later Meg whirled around like a scalded cat and slapped Sarah across the face. Sarah hadn't seen it coming. She should have, but she hadn't.

"Twerps like you, that's my problem." Meg spat as she smirked while Sarah blinked slowly as her eyes began to water. The guys laughed and whooped as they moved forward a bit to get a front-row view of the potential chick fight. Meg stepped back with a contempt look on her face as she waited for Sarah to come to her.

"Aw what's the matter? Is Daddy's girl gonna cry now? Hmmm?" Meg jabbed as she laughed along with the rest of the pack. Their laughter hurt more than the slap did and there was nothing Sarah could do to make it stop. If she ran they would hound her and if she ever showed her face on the boardwalk again, they would go out of their way to make her miserable. They were nothing but bullies, over-grown bullies.

_I hate bullies._

Sarah lowered her hand from her face as she locked eyes with Meg. The hard glint in her brown eyes shut Meg up and the older girl narrowed her eyes in retaliation at having been challenged. She had pegged Sarah as being weak but now that the kid was finally starting to show some back-bone, Meg didn't have a choice. She had to give Little Miss Upstart a sound beating in order to save face, which shouldn't be too hard seeing that Sarah looked as if she never threw a punch in her life.

"Don't bother Meg, the kid's not worth it." Hank mumbled offhandedly as he pulled out a rumpled back of Camels and lit a cigarette. The others in the pack snickered as they kept their attention on Meg, waiting to see what she would do next. Instead of taking the sound advice Meg just snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah right." Meg muttered under her breath, out of earshot of everyone as she leisurely worked out the kink in her neck. "Show me what you got, if you have anything under that cheap get-up." Meg taunted Sarah with an accusing smile.

"Cheap? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black." Sarah muttered as she flashed Meg a bright, toothy smile. "If you're going to intimidate someone, do it without chewing like a cow ok? It's not that scary." Sarah said with more cheek than she really felt as she watched Meg's pale skin slowly redden. It was only fair that Sarah got off a few pot shots before the fur flew; it was a part of female fighting etiquette. Who said they had to be nice to each other?

"Ohhhhhhhhh, I am so gonna wipe the floor with your face Skipper." Meg hissed as she spat out the wad of chewing gum, her fingers curled into tight fists, the cheap stones of her rings glinting dangerously.

"I'd like to see you try you cheap who…" Sarah spat back just as a hand grabbed her from behind. "…ore. Hey!" Sarah exclaimed as someone roughly dragged her back.

Sarah turned around quickly thinking that it was one of the guys who had arrived in the nick of time to bail her out. But it wasn't. A tall, shaggy-headed boy of about Sarah's age kept a firm grip on her arm as he pushed her behind him while he faced Meg and the pack.

"What…?" Sarah started but before she could get more than a word out a sharp, unfamiliar voice rang out from behind her. Sarah jumped when someone else popped up beside the boy as if out of thin air.

"Where the hell have you been? Huh? We've been lookin' all over for ya." A brown-haired girl snapped as she gave Sarah a look that told her to shut it and shut it good. Sarah didn't object. The girl must have been about fifteen years old but from the way she was dressed, Sarah got the feeling that whoever she was, she wasn't someone that Sarah wanted to argue with. Well not now anyways.

"What's this? The Mouseketeers have come out to play tonight? How cute." Meg said as she gave the two new arrivals a lazy once-over. The odds had just changed but not by much.

"Save it for someone who cares." The boy snorted as he flicked his unruly bangs out of his eyes but never once broke eye contact with Meg. His persistent hard-core staring had started to creep the punk out and that was the only reason why she didn't rearrange his face with those sharp rings of hers right then and there.

"Beat it kid. This doesn't concern you or that clap-trap of yours." The bald guy broke in as he spat out another wad of tobacco juice onto the dirty pavement.

"Didn't your mom ever tell you that you spit like a camel? Wait, my bad. You never had a mother. It shows." The brown-haired girl sassed as she scratched her chin with her middle finger, flipping him the bird.

"Shut up Tory." Muttered the boy quietly under his breath as the bald punk rose from the curb and made his way over to Meg's side.

"Make me." Tory snapped back pleasantly as she grinned at the bald guy just to spite the hell out of him. Talk about waving a red flag in front of a bull.

"Excuse me but…who are you?" Sarah asked quietly as she looked from the boy to the spunky girl who had their backs to her while they stood between her and the street waifs.

"Shut it you. You got us into enough trouble already." Tory growled over her shoulder, giving Sarah an accusing glare before she turned back to the bald guy who looked like he was ready to wring her neck with one hand.

"What?" Sarah blurted as she gave Tory a look of disbelief. The boy's grip on her arm tightened slightly and Sarah noticed that boy and Tory had suddenly frozen to the spot as they stared wide-eyed at something behind the group of punks.

"Shit, the cops." Ian muttered loudly enough so that the punks heard him.

"Crap!" Meg swore as she spun around at the same time the rest of her group did to see how close the police were. While they were distracted, Tory grabbed Sarah's other arm and before Sarah could protest, the two teens practically dragged Sarah behind them as they ran for it.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing!" Sarah yelped as Tory yanked her forward in order to keep up with them while angry shouts sounded out behind them.

"Saving your ass so move it!" Tory shouted over her shoulder as she pushed Sarah ahead of her while the boy led the way, zigzagging through the dense crowd while the punks shouted curses at them.

"Get back here you twerps! You are so dead!" The punks chased after them but as the trio wormed their way deeper into the slow-moving crowd, the bigger teens were having a harder time trying to barrel they way through. Precious seconds were gained as Sarah ran after the boy blindly while Tory egged her on, bringing up the rear.

"Ian! Ian the comic book store!" Tory shouted above the blaring music that was coming from the loud speakers that were set up near the small building complex. Ian didn't have to be told twice as he charged into the comic book store with Sarah and Tory hot on his heels. The three of them literally dove behind a shelf of Marvel comics just as the punks appeared outside the store's wide doorway, looking left and right to see if they could spot them.

"Do you mind?" A gruff voice asked as a pair of scuffed combat boots appeared beside Ian. Ian brushed his bangs out of his eyes and looked up to see a scruffy-looking blonde teenager with a red bandana tied around his head, Rambo style, looking down at him with a serious expression on his face. Ian jerked his head to the side and Edgar Frog just nodded his head slightly as he eyed the pack out of the corner of his eye, giving nothing away.

"Hey you, cue ball! Yeah you! You owe me $6.50 from the comics you stole." Edgar growled loudly as he headed towards the front of the store just as Allan, his younger brother by a year, appeared out of the back room with an identical scowl on his face.

Tory gave Ian the sign of the devil and the two high-fived each other as they heard Meg and the others wander off muttering empty threats under their breath as the Frog brothers drove them off. Sarah let out a sigh of relief and leaned back against the bottom of the shelf as she looked at Ian and Tory for a moment.

"Ok. Who are you guys?" She asked as she stood up and straightened out her jacket, looking around carefully to make sure that the punks were really gone.

"I'm Ian and that loud-mouth is Victoria." Ian said with a lopsided grin as Tory punched him on the shoulder.

"How many times have I told you, my name is Tory." Tory growled and Ian just rolled his eyes.

"I meant to say Tory." Ian said as he bent over and picked up one of the Captain America comics that they had accidentally knocked onto the floor when they had dived for cover.

"So are you guys brother and sister or something?" Sarah asked as she looked them over carefully, getting a better look at the two who had just saved her from one hell of an ass kicking. Ian was taller than her, everyone was taller than her, and was on the skinny side despite his height. It looked like he hadn't had a square meal in weeks. The battered leather bomber jacket that he wore looked like it had gone through the Second World War and his threadbare jeans were in similar condition. The hefty Doc Martin boots looked like they had come from an army surplus store, which they probably had, but they suited him despite his scrawny build. He looked like the average Santa Carla street kid which was probably why Sarah had not spotted him before hand. He blended perfectly with everyone else in the downtown core.

Tory was about her height but managed to pull off the tough tomboy look whereas Sarah came across about as intimidating as a show poodle despite the new wardrobe. The worn leather biker jacket had a snarling black panther painted on the back and Sarah wondered to herself if Tory had gotten the cat done by the same artist who had painted the leopard on Dwayne's jacket. The rest of her outfit was simple; cuffed jeans, an oversized sweater with the Stray Cats logo scrawled across the front and just a smug of red lipstick finished the look.

"Nah, we're just friends." Tory said as she playfully shoved Ian into the book shelf and smiled innocently. "So what about you? You got a name?"

"My name…uhh….," Sarah stammered, not sure if she should give them her real name. She had seen a few Missing Persons flyers around town with her picture and information on them and if Ian and Tory ever managed to put two-and-two together things would get really awkward. Looking about wildly for a source of inspiration, Sarah spied an old Disney Peter Pan comic half-hidden behind a Betty and Veronica comic and she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Tink. You can call me Tink." Sarah said with an awkward smile while Tory gave her a skeptical look. "What can I say? Tinkerbelle rocks my socks."

"As long as Peter Pan doesn't come prancing in here wearing tights then I couldn't care less about what you call yourself. Mind telling us what that was all about?" Edgar Frog cut in as he and Allan headed over to the group, walking tall while looking extremely satisfied.

"Ian had to be the good Samaritan again and we had to bail twinkle toes here from getting her face rearranged by those guys." Tory spoke up as she nodded her head towards Sarah. When Edgar and Allan looked at her, Sarah just shrugged her shoulders and gave them a sheepish look.

"You new?" Allan asked in his deadpan voice as he stared hard at Sarah for a few moments which made her feel really uncomfortable. It was as if he could see right through her and knew exactly what she was.

"Yeah. It really shows huh?" Sarah nodded her head as she lowered her eyes so that she wouldn't have to look at his expressionless face.

"You were lucky. It could have been worse." Edgar said as he looked at Allan and nodded.

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked curiously as she watched Allan brush past her and pick out a comic from the various stacks that were behind them.

"Oh brother, not this again." Tory muttered as she crossed her arms and nudged Sarah with her shoulder. "These guys think that Michael Jackson and his horde of dancing zombies roam the Boardwalk at night."

"You serious?" Sarah asked as she looked at the Frog brothers and was slightly taken aback by their dark scowls off annoyance as Tory chuckled to herself.

"Zombies are found in Louisiana but vampires love the night life in this place." Allan said as he handed Sarah a comic that had a snarling vampire on the cover. Sarah arched an eyebrow as she looked at the grizzly comic book and wrinkled her nose.

"Ewww. Vampires don't look like this." She said as she handed the comic back to Allan and rubbed her hands together as if she had touched something filthy.

"Oh? Have you ever seen a real vampire?" Edgar asked sarcastically, the gruffness of his voice deepening a bit as he looked at her.

"Well no but in all the vampire movies ever made, none of the vampires have teeth that big. Like if they did, how are they supposed to close their mouths? It makes no sense." Sarah stated off-handedly, trying to make it seem that she wasn't lying through her teeth.

"You'd be surprised at how many mistakes there are in monster movies." Allan responded as he and his brother exchanged a look before he placed the comic on the nearest shelf.

"Well duh, it's Hollywood. It's not real. I agree with Sarah. Do you honestly think that Bela Lugosi would have looked scary with a pair of ten inch fangs? He would have looked ridiculous. I can't believe you guys actually believe in this vampire stuff. You two seriously need a new hobby." Tory said as she uncrossed her arms and rested her left arm on Sarah's shoulder

"You watch Bela Lugosi movies?" Sarah asked Tory, who nodded.

"Who doesn't? The man's a classic. No one plays Dracula as well as he does." Tory said and despite themselves, Edgar and Allan found themselves nodding in agreement to what Tory said. They stopped when they realized what they were doing though.

"I don't know about you guys but Lon Chaney is my favorite. The Wolf Man is the best monster ever portrayed. Talbot is a great guy who ends up becoming a werewolf because he tried to do the right thing and his own father ends up killing him. Just because he turns into a werewolf at night and has no control over himself, that doesn't make him an evil person. He's still the kind-hearted man that is always was only…" She said before Edgar cut her off.

"Only he has a problem in the man-eating department." He snorted and he and Allan exchanged knowing smirks. Girls, they always try to sugar-coat the obvious. "Listen Tink, there is no such thing as a "good monster." You show me a good monster and I'll show you a shotgun loaded with silver or a nice sharp stake." Edgar smirked as he shook his head.

"All monsters are evil and it's up to people like us, the ones who have what it takes, to make sure that their evil is destroyed for the betterment of mankind. Don't worry; we know what we're doing. We're professionals." Allan said in a cock-sure voice that made Sarah frown darkly.

"Oh grow up will you?" Sarah muttered bitterly before she shouldered her way past Edgar and headed for the entrance while everyone watched her go.

"Tell me Allan, have either of you ever seen a vampire much less killed one?" Tory asked the brothers, who didn't respond. "Yeah, I thought so. A right pair of "monster hunters" you guys are. Anyways I'm not wasting the rest of my night in here so I'll see you two Helsing-wannabes later." Tory said as she gave them a mock military salute and nodded to Ian to follow her as she too left the comic store. Ian sighed as he gave the brothers an apologetic look and shook his head.

"Girls, they think they know everything." Edgar growled as Ian laughed.

"Got that right. Anyways, I'll see you guys later okay? If I let Tory go wandering around on her own, she'll end up picking a fight with a biker gang or something. See you." Ian said as he headed for the entrance and waved over his shoulder before he slipped past a pair of chattering girls who were gossiping about the latest high school love affair. Without either girl knowing, Ian carefully picked the brunette's pocket and made off with her wallet while she continued to talk her friend's ear off.

It didn't take Ian long to spot Tory and Sarah standing by the ring toss booth as they made sarcastic remarks about the Frog brothers and their mental capabilities. Ian palmed the ten bucks he got off the girl in the comic store and tossed her empty wallet into the nearest trash can before he approached the girls.

"Are you kidding me? They actually think that the mayor of Santa Carla is a werewolf?" Sarah exclaimed as Tory nodded her head.

"Yep. Ask Ian if you don't believe me. I'm telling you their mother must have smoked some bad weed when she was pregnant with them and that's why they turned out the way they did." Tory said as she smiled at Ian as he walked over to them. "Ian you have a knack of meeting the weirdest people around here."

"Yeah I know. I've never been the same after running into you." Ian said as he ducked Tory's playful swipe. "So, who's hungry? My treat." He said as he waved the ten dollar bill in front of Tory's face and flicked it away as she tried to make a grab for it.

"Where did you get ten bucks? I thought you said you were broke." Tory said as she gave Ian an accusing look, one that he made a point to ignore.

"Let's just say a random vampire handed it to me because he had no use for it. After all, it's not like vampires can eat cotton candy." He said and Tory visibly brightened at the aspect of being able to satisfy her sweet tooth.

"Got that right. C'mon, I just realized how hungry I am." Tory said as she snatched the ten dollar bill out of Ian's hand when he wasn't looking and ran towards the cotton candy vendor, crowing victoriously as she did so.

"You coming?" Ian asked Sarah when she stayed where she was, looking in Tory's direction with a look of longing in her eyes,

"I don't know. I'll just end up getting you guys into trouble." Sarah said as she gnawed on her fingernail, knowing full well what would happen if David or the others ever found out that she was hanging out with normal teenagers. They wouldn't think twice about tearing Ian and Tory to shreds. "It's all right. You guys have fun. I have to go anyways." Sarah said as she gave Ian an apologetic look.

Ian watched her for a moment before he grabbed her by the hand and headed to where Tory was. "You can go later. And despite what you might think you could never get us into as much trouble as Tory can so we'll call it even." Ian grinned before he lowered his voice to a whisper. "But don't tell her I said that."

Sarah didn't resist Ian but she was uneasy despite the fact that she was letting herself to be led away by a complete stranger. A complete human stranger.

"What took you two so long? I was starting to wonder if I was going to have to eat all this by myself." Tory said as she handed Ian the change while holding a huge cone covered in pink floss. "Anyways," She said as she ripped a chunk off and swallowed it, "race you guys to the Dipper. Last one there buys the drinks." With that Tory took off like a shot while still holding the cone carefully as she neatly side-stepped a line of neatly parked motorcycles and accidentally knocked a guy into them as she ran past laughing loudly.

Ian and Sarah exchanged a look before Ian raised his eyebrows and looked over Sarah's shoulder. "Hey! Is that Corey Haim?" He said as he squinted and nodded his head to Sarah.

"Corey? Oh my god where!" Sarah spun around and looked about wildly as Ian laughed and ran for it. "Hey! That's not fair!" Sarah cried as she chased after Ian. Tory was the first one to make it to the roller coaster but Ian was the last. At times like these it actually paid off to have certain vampire abilities.


	4. Lincoln's unexpected arrival

**Greetings all!**

**I finally managed to get this chapter written after a good three weeks at pecking at it. While writing it I realized a few things and one of those things is that this story is no longer going to be the 7 chapter short-story that I had hoped. Nope, this one is probably going to hit around 19 chapters which means another year-long writing fest. I also realized that I am incapable of writing a simple story. Everything has to been filled with conspiracies, double-plots and action, action, action. Also I am adding two new characters, both vampires, and that'll be the end of that.**

**Also I have finally finished overhauling my site so now it is strictly a Lost Boys FanFic stop-over. Everything you want to know about the new characters, old characters, plot descriptions and all that can be found on the site. Also, I will be throwing up news about _House_ as well as spoilers and revealing a few things that many people have wondered about. Such as who is **_Die Young_. **Well to answer that question folks, read this chapter. Lincoln is** _Die Young_. **He'll be playing the rival vampire leader in** **_House_. I've got his concept shots as well as a few others up already so I hope you enjoy them.**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

"Man this blows." Paul tossed the dog-eared Rolling Stones magazine that he had been leafing through onto the floor and sighed, completely bored out of his mind. They had all gone out at sundown to feed and after they had cut down a few of the mindless flock, David had ordered them all back to the cave where they had been hanging around, doing absolutely nothing since then.

"What a waste of a perfectly good night. There were at least three decent parties going on and I didn't even get to check out one. Tell me again why we're here and not out doing something with our lives? And how come Sarah got to leave?" Paul complained as he adjusted his position so that his head was hanging off the side of the battered old couch that he was sprawled across. The injuries that he had sustained the night before were now a thing of the past and seeing that this was a "kid sister" free night, it annoyed Paul to no end that he had to spend it cooped up in a cave with absolutely nothing to do.

"Paul, you ask me that one more time I'm gonna ram this wrench down your throat." Dwayne muttered darkly as he gave the wrench a sharp tug, making sure the part he was fixing was firmly secured. His motorcycle was standing upright in front of him beside the red tower tool box that housed just about every hand-held tool that he would ever need to keep his bike and the others in perfect working condition.

"But I'm bored. I shouldn't be bored. I hate being bored." Paul whined as he stared at Dwayne and dug into his back pocket to pull out a crushed carton of Marlboros. Unearthing a red lighter from between the ripped cushions of the couch, Paul shook the cigarette carton and cursed loudly when he realized that it was empty. "Fuck it!" He growled as he tossed the empty carton away without a thought and rolled off the couch.

"Paul, what are you doing?" Dwayne asked without bothering to look up as he grabbed an oily rag and began to clean away the dirt build-up on the bike's engine.

"Goin' outside to hang myself and see what happens." Paul muttered as he stalked past and lashed out with his foot, sending a piece of broken molding skidding across the dirty floor.

"Use aircraft cable and tell me how it goes." Dwayne said calmly as he twisted the tip of the rag and tried to get at those hard to reach places. He missed Paul's crude gesture that was sent his way but looked up momentarily when David walked into the cave from the narrow side tunnel that led to the smaller caves deep within in the cliff face.

"Is she back yet?" David asked quietly as he scanned the cave with a swift glance.

"Why the hell do you care?" Paul snorted in disbelief as he picked his way towards the mouth of the cave. Dwayne gave the potential situation a once over and went back to cleaning his bike without saying a word as David glared at Paul with a look so intense that it wiped the wise-ass smirk off the head-banger's face. The two vampires stared at one another for a few moments as an uncomfortable silence filled the cave. Even the few pigeons who roosted in the nooks and crannies of the cave became unnaturally still as Paul tried in vain to probe David's mind in hopes of figuring out what was making David so moody and off.

"What is it this time?" Dwayne asked evenly as he put down the rag and picked up an oil can without even bothering to look up. Despite his mild attempt to diffuse the situation it didn't do him any good, as he figured it wouldn't. When Paul was cranky like this it took only the slightest thing to set him off and when that happened, the guy wouldn't shut up until the sun came up.

David frowned before he took his eyes off of Paul and glanced over at Dwayne before he shook his head and turned around. "Nothing. Just let me know when she gets back." He muttered under his breath as he headed to the back of the cave, moving as if he had a dark cloud looming over his head. This caught Dwayne's full attention and he studied David out of the corner of his eye, his usual brooding expression darkening somewhat.

"Whoa, hang on a sec man. Why are you suddenly interested in the twerp? It's not like you care cause if you did then I'd have to say that you're pretty fucked in the head David. And you know I'm right." Paul said as he leaned against the mouth of the cave and crossed his arms, his attitude serious for once.

"For once I agree with Paul. You know it's hopeless. I don't know what Max was thinking when he turned her but it's only a matter of time before the inevitable happens. Just accept it and move on. Remember it's the only choice we have." Dwayne told David as he continued to clean his bike, not at all bothered by what he was saying.

"Yeah, what he said." Paul quipped as he motioned to Dwayne with a jerk of his thumb when David turned around to face them both.

"That's just the thing boys, there's something about all this that doesn't make any sense. Dwayne, you noticed too that Sarah will never be like us. Max isn't stupid, god I wish he were, but we all know from experience just how smart he is and he would have seen that turning her would have been pointless. He would never waste his time on something like this yet he did it anyways. Why?" David asked aloud as he mulled over a thought that just entered his mind.

"Why? Cause he's a royal prick and wanted to annoy the hell outta us that's why." Paul muttered darkly. Dwayne rolled his eyes and didn't bother to comment on Paul's remark as he thought about what David said and realized that maybe David was on to something. He hadn't seen it before because he hadn't been bothered to care all that much about the kid and her situation. But now that David brought it up, Dwayne realized that there was something amiss about all this. Paul however thought that David needed a reality check.

"You're putting way too much thought into this David. Max was bored one night, had nothing better to do and figured that he could throw a monkey wrench at us in order to have an excuse to beat all our asses whenever he felt like it. He's just up to his old tricks again. The kid's nothing more than a test to see how long we can last before we screw up. Man you're seeing conspiracy theories in a friggin handshake." Paul told David as he just shook his head. Sometimes he really did wonder about his blood brothers.

Dwayne remained silent as he carefully polished a small section of the bike, careful to keep the chrome unmarked as he switched the oily rag with a clean one. "The others, they could have made it. But her, she'll be dead within the month. You think he's up to something?"

"Aw man not you too." Paul groaned and quickly ducked when a rock flew at him from Dwayne's direction. "You missed sucka." He smirked proudly as he adjusted his jacket.

"Paul sometimes I wonder how you've ever managed to make it this far while being so nearsighted." David muttered as he massaged his temples before he sat down on the edge of the crumbling fountain basin. Dwayne lowered his head while he shook slightly with silent laughter as Paul's smirk turned right around into an offended pout.

"Hey man I can see perfectly." He stated with indignation as he glared at Dwayne out of the corner of his eye.

"Oh yeah? How many fingers am I holding up?" Dwayne asked with mock curiosity as he held up his right arm and lifted his middle finger into the air. Even David could not resist a chuckle at Paul's expense. The expression on the pot-head's face was priceless.

"Ha ha. Funny Dwayne, real funny." Paul bristled as Dwayne laughed and went back to cleaning his bike, leaving Paul to stew in his own juices for a bit. He could not have resisted the temptation. It was just too easy to piss Paul off and when the situation presented itself, Dwayne couldn't say no.

"He must have done it for a reason but fuck it if I can figure it out. It's really starting to piss me off. I hate being in the dark when it comes to him." Both Paul and Dwayne put their silent nit-picking on hold for a minute as they watched David as he got up and paced the cave in one direction and then another, muttering to himself under his breath. "I'm missing something here…what am I missing? Damn it!" David growled as he began to rub his hands together without realizing it.

"Maybe we should ask Marko if he knows anything. He usually picks things up at the store doesn't he? " Dwayne spoke up as he arched an eyebrow at David's preoccupied behavior. Okay, this was getting a little weird.

"Listen man, just challenge him already and get it over with. You want him out of Santa Carla, we want him out of Santa Carla, hell even the kid wouldn't mind sending a few stakes his way. Let's just ambush him one night and kill that mother once and for all." Paul said as he carelessly slid down the steep ramp, sending a few loose rocks skittering after him. "Trust me on this one David, you'll sleep better." He finished as he landed neatly on his toes. He bent over and snatched up a jagged piece of wood and tossed it at David to emphasis his words. "I told you before; it's all a test man."

David caught the make-shift stake with one hand and eyed it for a moment before he pitched it over his shoulder without thinking twice about it. "Paul, that has to be the stupidest thing you've said all night." He stated flatly as he took off his gloves and shoved them into his coat pocket. He paused for a moment as the tarnished medal on the breast of his trench coat caught his attention. He fingered it, rubbing his thumb over the two-headed crow and plumed helmet that were engraved into the silver.

"Well excuse me for trying to be the voice of reason around here." Paul snapped, annoyed once again over the fact that no one ever took him seriously.

"Paul you don't have a reasonable bone in your body." Dwayne commented as he finished cleaning the right side of his bike and rose to his feet so that he begin to work on the other side.

"Yeah so?" Paul went on the defensive as Dwayne turned his back to him on purpose.

"Go hang yourself." Was all Dwayne said as he went to the toolbox and began to search through the shelves for another wrench.

"Make me." Paul shot back as he picked up the magazine that he had tossed away and threw it like a frizzbee, straight into the back of Dwayne's head.

"_Is that an invitation?_"

Paul accidentally knocked down the yellow and red surf boards that were propped up against the cave wall as Dwayne paused just as he was about to throw a hammer that he had randomly grabbed from the tool box while David snapped out of his thoughts and quickly yanked the old medal off his jacket and pocketed it with a quick flick of his wrist. Standing as calm as could be by the rusted barrel that was the closest to the cave entrance was a figure that caught all three vampires by surprise. Literally.

"Who the fuck are you?" Paul blurted as he tried not to trip over the cumbersome yellow surf board that had landed on his toes as Dwayne slowly lowered his upraised arm but did not release his grip on the hammer. David didn't bat an eyelash as he studied the twenty-something biker that stood with his back to the group while he warmed his hands by the crackling barrel fire that Dwayne had lit at the start of the evening.

"Howdy boys." The stranger said as he slowly turned his head to the side, a grin that could have put a gargoyle to shame etched onto his scarred and stubbled face. He clapped his hands together over the flames and the sound rang out like a muffled shot before he unearthed a half-smoked Cuban cigar from a hidden pocket and calmly lit it while the three looked on.

"Lincoln." David stood where he was with his hands clasped behind his back and didn't bother to make the first move as he carefully eyed the trespassing vampire that had strolled into their midst without an invitation.

Lincoln's head jerked to the side as he spun neatly on his heels, twirling around on a dime so that he faced David. That wicked grin grew a few inches with pleasure as he arched an eyebrow and looked the vampire leader in the eye. "Miss me?"

"You know this guy?" Paul asked as he gave Lincoln a critical once over and didn't like what he saw. The guy dressed like a Hell's Angels but there was something about the way he carried himself that told Paul that whoever he was, he was nothing but trouble. And Paul should know, seeing that his middle name was troubled with a capital T.

"In a way." David curtly answered as he remained where he was, eyes locked with the grinning road warrior.

"Shoot, is that the way you treat your own brother? Davey, ya think you'd have learned by now. Looks like nothin's changed in twenty years," Lincoln tisked as he exhaled a pungent cloud of smoke and tapped the end of the cigar with his finger in order to knock the ashes off its tip. His dark brown eyes flickered from Paul to Dwayne as he brought the cigar back up to his mouth and paused a moment. "Well, almost nothin'. Don't recollect seein' you boys before." He mused as he flicked his head to the side in order to get a few strands of wayward hair out of his eyes before he chomped down on the cigar.

"Brother? I don't see the resemblance." Dwayne said dryly as he turned around and placed the hammer back down on the toolbox. When he did he carefully palmed a folded switchblade that was sitting beside the box of screws and without drawing any attention to himself, he slid the knife up into his sleeve before he turned around and slowly walked towards David.

"Course you don't. Brothers by blood baby not by birth." Lincoln said with a flourish of his cigar as his eyes grew a little colder and his smile became somewhat sinister. Paul glanced at David for orders as he remained where he was, about an arms length from Lincoln as Dwayne casually positioned himself on David's right hand side. None of the vampires were stupid enough to think that this was just some little meet and greet and they were all ready and waiting for someone to make the first move.

"What do you want Lincoln?" David asked flatly, keeping his face as unreadable as possible.

"Want? Hell I don't want nothin'. I was in town so I figured that I'd drop by and see what's been goin' on around here without me. Place sure hasn't changed much." Lincoln chuckled as he walked past Paul and nudged him out of the way with his shoulder. Paul's eyes flickered dangerously as he held himself in check and as he did so he noticed the partially hidden bowie knife that was hooked to Lincoln's belt. "Hang on a sec, ain't there supposed to be four of you?" Lincoln asked as he turned away from the black and white Jim Morrison poster that was staring down at them from the far wall of the cave.

Dwayne and Paul swiftly exchange a hidden look before Dwayne cautiously answered the guy. "How would you know that?"

"Word gets around pretty quick on the west coast. Looks like you boys have been makin' quite a name for yourselves. That ain't necessarily a good thing neither." Lincoln shrugged nonchalant as he puffed away on his cigar, his eyes working their way around the cave as he took stock of everything.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Dwayne asked when Lincoln spent a little too much time eyeing his bike before giving it a disapproving snort. David took his eyes off of Lincoln for a split second in order to give Dwayne a glance that kept him in his place but did nothing to hide the serious scowl that crept over his eyes.

"_Not now_." David mentally warned Dwayne. The dark-haired vampire didn't answer him but when David heard Dwayne growl faintly he knew that his words were understood.

Unaware of the mental exchange Lincoln walked over to the tool box and toyed with one of Dwayne's screw drivers, secretly knowing just how much it annoyed Dwaye but pretended not to show it. "You bring too much attention to yourselves and old Max is gonna get right pissed at you boys. And you all know what happens when Max gets like that." He commented as he knocked a new batch of ashes into one of the tool box's shelves before meandering his way over to where the couch was. "You boys keep goin' on the way you are now and you'll be joinin' me soon enough."

"How do you figure?" Paul asked as he stepped over the fallen surf boards in order to get closer to the couch as he watched Lincoln's every move like a hawk.

"Well it's pretty simple ain't it? I know for a fact that I wasn't the only one who got the boot from Max." Lincoln chuckled to himself as he turned around and sat himself down onto David's personal chair as if he owned the place. If his actions annoyed David, he didn't show it.

"You were exiled by Max?" Dwayne asked despite himself. If this Lincoln character had been exiled by Max, then Max must have turned him and if he did, why didn't he or the others know about it? There was something important that was not being said and it didn't look like David was going to be the one to let the cat out of the bag.

"You never told them did ya David?" Lincoln grinned as he twirled the stubby cigar between his fingers while knowing full well that his name had never been mentioned to Paul and Dwayne by David or Max.

"Tell us what?" Paul said he looked at David for some form of guidance.

"Up until now I thought you were dead Lincoln. I thought Max finished you off the night you caused that massacre at the train yard." David finally spoke up as he calmly took out a cigarette from an inner pocket and lit it, ignoring the imploring and confused looks from the other two while Lincoln watched them all.

"Ya still remember that night do ya? Man that was a real work of art, one of my finest." Lincoln sighed and blew a perfect smoke ring as he lowered his cigar. He tilted his head back and stared up at the ceiling to watch the round cloud of smoke drift off into nothingness.

"You almost exposed us with that little stunt of yours." David muttered as he gave the rouge vampire an almost accusing look.

"Almost David, but I didn't now did I?" Lincoln stated with a wave of his cigar while still looking up.

"That's besides the point." David retorted as he offered the cigarette to Dwayne.

"Nah, I don't think it is." Lincoln mused as he lazily lifted his head and squinted at David. "Ya see David, Max was just about ready to unleash hellfire on my ass but for some reason he didn't. If he had I wouldn't be standin' here talkin' to you but I'm sure you boys figured that out already by yourselves." He grinned lazily as he slowly nodded his head at Paul before he took a long drag on his cigar.

"Then how did you get away?" Paul scoffed as he arched an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. This guy had to be shooting the shit because they all knew that if Max wanted you dead, you were dead.

"I didn't." Lincoln's voice suddenly went flat and the grin vanished from his face."You see boys when you break the rules you're gonna get punished. And well, I broke the rules. I broke just about every damn one of them and enjoyed every minute of it. But no matter how smart you think you are, or how fast you think you are or how strong you think you are, there's always someone else who can kick your head in as sure as a whore's got hells teeth." He said in a tone that made the hairs on Paul's neck stand on end. Dwayne tensed under Lincoln's dead-pan stare and the two stared at one another before David shifted slightly to the side so that he subtly placed himself between the two in order to divert their attention elsewhere. "I heard what you were sayin' before, about doin' Max in. It'll never work." Lincoln said with a slow shake of his head.

"Oh yeah? And how would you know?" Paul muttered darkly as he shifted uneasily. Was this guy a spy for Max? Why was he telling them all this? Something didn't feel right and Paul knew it.

"Cause my metal-head friend, I already tried that. And look at what it got me, a one-way ticket to shit-stompin' hell." Lincoln sneered as he leaned forward in the chair and put out the cigar by grinding the smoldering end into the battered arm of the three-seater couch.

"I thought you'd feel at home there." David replied sarcastically as he waved his hand at the cigarette that Dwayne offered back to him.

"Yeah I thought so too. But twenty years under the boot of one of the meanest mother-fuckers in the good ol' U S of A will just about turn anyone's head right around. I was born and raised in the Bronx, but ya'd never think of it now huh?" Lincoln remarked as he took the cigar and bit off the burnt end before putting what was left of it back into his breast pocket in order to smoke it later.

"Or you could just be seriously messed in the head." Paul shrugged as he watched Lincoln chew the ashy remains with a mildly disgusted look.

Lincoln smirked as he made a show of savoring the burnt out leaves. "You're right on the money with that one slick. Right on the money, money, money." He laughed, the serious attitude that he had taken on now a thing of the past, as if it never happened. "Which reminds me, where's that little piece of tail you got runnin' around here?" He snapped his fingers as he remembered what it was that he had wanted to ask David in the first place.

"Say what?" That was something that none of them had been expecting, David included.

Lincoln rose of the chair and inhaled sharply, his head tilted slightly to the side as he did so. "She ain't here. I thought you was supposed to watch her, Max's orders if I ain't mistaken." He raised both eyebrows as he tisked David under his breath. "C'mon David, you ain't gettin' soft are ya?"

"What do you want Lincoln, I'm not going to ask you again." David approached Lincoln in order to force him to face him directly and stopped about ten feet from the vampire.

"David there's not need to get all defensive on me now. All I want to know is whether or not she's around. Or did she make another break for it?" Lincoln said as he raised his hands to placate David as he glanced at Dwayne and Paul. "Looks like you boys have quite the problem child on your hands. Does Max know?"

"If we do it's no business of yours." Dwayne growled as he came up behind David, making it clear that he was ready and willing to send Lincoln packing at David's signal.

"Now that I beg to differ. It just so happens that it is my business." Lincoln tucked the tobacco wad into the corner of his mouth so that he could speak properly without having his words muffled.

"Oh yeah? Dare I ask why?" Paul asked none too politely as he glanced over his shoulder for a moment when he felt a presence behind him. Seeing nothing, he turned around and nearly jumped out of his skin when he came face to face with Lincoln who stood about two inches away from him. "Shit!" He stumbled back a few steps as the corners of Lincoln's eyes creased as he narrowed his eyes ever so slightly.

"You can ask all you'd like but that don't mean I'm gonna give you an answer. That wouldn't be practical now would it?" He grinned dangerously as chewed on the tobacco wad.

"Yeah, you're one to talk about practicality." Paul growled as he squared his shoulders and glared a warning at Lincoln as Dwayne growled behind David and had to be shoved back by David when he tried to get close to Paul.

"You must be Paul." Lincoln stood back for a minute as he looked Paul over once more. A bright smile lit up his face as he slapped Paul on the back and rested his arm on his shoulders as if they were life-long friends. "Max said you was an idiot but I gave you the benefit of a doubt. Looks like I shouldn't have bothered." He crowed as Paul shoved him away and growled out a warning.

"If I _was _you I'd watch my mouth you piss-drinking redneck." Paul spat as he grabbed Lincoln by the front of his jacket and glared at him.

"Paul, stop it." David commanded but Paul didn't listen. The antagonizing grin on Lincoln's face was making his blood boil and Paul was just itching to knock it off his face with a decent shot to the head. "Paul!" David snapped but Lincoln cut him off before he could say more.

"Ya know that's exactly what your momma said when I nailed her in the back of your daddy's Chevy. Looks like you got her mouth as well as her looks, ain't that a cryin' shame." Lincoln sneered as he reached up and flicked some of Paul's hair over his shoulder for emphasis. Okay, that was it.

"I told you to watch it." Paul snarled as he brought his face to Lincoln's, his blue eyes shifting into a blazing orangish-red. Instead of backing off like any sane vampire would, Lincoln just cocked his head and grinned like an idiot.

"Ya know you're mighty cute when you're angry. I bet your boyfriend would agree with me on that." He whispered loudly as he winked suggestively to add salt to the wound.

"You crossed the line on that one pal." Paul's face went from human to vampire in a split second.

"Paul let him go!" David growled as he stepped forward and stopped but neither vampire bothered looking at him as they stood toe to toe, waiting to see who would be the first to make a move.

"Already? Shoot, I ain't even warmed up yet." Lincoln laughed as he puckered his lips and blew him a kiss.

"Things are going to get a lot warmer by the time I'm done with you, you fag." Paul snarled as he narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth. Lincoln laughed as he went on chewing like a cow, snickering while Paul snarled.

"Is that a promise you intend on keepin' boy? Cause I just hate it when people make me promises that they can't keep." Lincoln purred as he lifted his arms and broke Paul's grip on his jacket as he danced back a few steps, beckoning Paul to come at him with both hands.

"Paul back off. _Now Paul_!" David raised his voice and for a moment it looked as if Paul were going to listen to David's command but when Lincoln snapped his fingers and spat the wad of tobacco onto Paul's boots, Paul lost it.

"Son of a bitch!" Paul snarled as he leapt at Lincoln with his arm raised.

"No Paul!" David barked and at the exact same moment, Lincoln turned his head slightly and grinned at David before Paul closed the distance between the two of them and landed a blow to Lincoln's head that would have knocked a carthorse to its knees. Lincoln didn't bother to resist as he went down like a ton of bricks with Paul snapping at his exposed face. Paul got in a few more shots as the two tussled on the cave floor and every time Paul laid into Lincoln, the guy just laughed for more.

"Is that all you got? Shit boy you hit like preacher's daughter. Do it again, I'm getting' a hard-on here." Lincoln howled as Paul grabbed him by the neck and yanked him to his feet, shaking him as hard as he could.

"Paul stop it! Damn it Paul, that's enough!" David roared above the noise but other than that he made no move to physically separate the two.

"Quit shoutin' an' join us David. We'll make it a threesome. Junior here sure could learn a thing or two." Lincoln called to David just before a stout left hook from Paul knocked him down on his ass.

"Why don't I teach you a few things huh?" Paul growled as he lashed out with his right foot and kicked Lincoln in the ribs, once, twice, three times.

"Yeah, I could do with a lesson in givin' good head." Lincoln scoffed and Paul let out a shriek of outrage and redoubled his efforts to cause as much pain to the vampire as he could. Yet no matter how hard he hit or how many times he punted Lincoln like a football, the guy just laughed and roared for more. "I think you missed a spot." Lincoln said as Paul picked him up and threw him into the busted chandelier. "There, now doesn't that feel good?" Lincoln chuckled as he gingerly untangled himself from the chandelier, inspecting a new tear in his leather jacket as Paul circled him, breathing hard. David watched the temporary truce with a stony face while Dwayne flicked the switchblade into his hand and waited until Paul looked his way before he tossed the knife to him.

"Not as good as this will." Paul snarled wickedly as he reached out and caught the folded knife.

_Snikt!_

The razored blade flicked into existence as Paul whirled sharply on his heels, wielding the knife with an expert hand. "So you want a lesson in giving head huh?" He taunted dangerously as he made a suggestive gesture with the knife, its meaning coming across loud and clear. Lincoln eyed the knife for a second before he looked Paul in the eye and shifted his stance so that his arms were hanging loosely by his sides as if he were about to draw a gun.

"You gonna stand there all night and tease me?" He said softly as he lowered his head slightly but never broke eye contact. His face shifted instantaneously, the scars running across his face becoming more prominent along the ridge of his forehead. "Let's get it on Paulie boy. Uncle Billy's waitin'."

Paul flew into action at the same instant Lincoln did. A massive blur of colour and two separate roars were heard as the two collided into each-other head on with such force that they literally bounced off one another. It took less than a quarter of a second before it was over. Dwayne and David didn't move as they waited to see what damage had been done. Lincoln was lying on his side while Paul was doubled over with a look of startled surprise on his face. Both had their backs to the two.

"Paul?" Dwayne called out softly as Paul slowly sank to his knees, blinking owlishly as he tried to speak but no words came out.

"God…" Paul wheezed as he squeezed his eyes shut as hard as he could before he opened them and looked down. "Oh god…"he cried.

"Fuck, Paul!" Dwayne was stopped from going to Paul's side by David's outstretched arm. "Fuck it David, Paul's hurt!" Dwayne snarled as the heavy scent of Paul's blood quickly filled the cave,

"_Stay where you are!_" David literally roared at him and Dwayne was so taken aback he was too slow to counter-act David's mental blow that swept his legs from under him. David planted his foot on Dwayne's chest and pinned him to the ground as he watched Lincoln get to his feet. David balled his hands into fists to the point that blood trickled from between his fingers as his nails pierced the palms of his hands but other than that, he didn't move. It was almost as if he couldn't move.

"David…"Paul whimpered before he curled inwards and fell forward, curling into a ball as he wrapped his arms over his abdomen as tightly as he could.

"Ya did warn him David." Lincoln said with a snort as he glanced down at his chest and yanked out the switchblade that was embedded between his ribs.

"Leave." David commanded with a voice as cold as ice as he glared at Lincoln. If looks could kill Lincoln would have been dead before he knew what hit him. Lincoln nodded his head once as he tossed the switchblade into the fire-lit barrel and wiped his left hand on his jacket. David's eyes narrowed into slits as he watched Lincoln pick his bowie knife off the ground and lick one side of the gore-covered blade before he wiped the rest of Paul's blood off on his pant-leg, leaving a thick streak of dark red across his thigh.

"That there is one stupid-ass vampire David. He couldn't even see it comin'." Lincoln snorted as he pointed the bowie knife at David and smiled crookedly. "It's nothin' personal David, just doin' my job. I'll see ya around." Lincoln sheathed the knife and without missing a beat flew out of the cave with a gust of wind, the faint traces of his sadistic laughter trailing after him.

"Fuck it David let me up!" Dwayne snapped and only when Lincoln's presence was truly gone did David release his hold on Dwayne and stepped back. "What the fuck's the matter with you?" Dwayne growled as he gave David a dark look before hurrying over to Paul's side. "Easy Paul, try not to move. Where'd he get you? _That son of a bitch!_" He hissed sharply as he knelt beside the fallen vampire and saw the extent of the damage that Lincoln had inflicted. The entire left side of Paul's abdomen from his kidney to his navel was laid open with a single gash that was deep enough to cut through his abdominal wall and expose his internal organs. Basically, Lincoln gutted him like a fish. The sight was gut-wrenching.

"How bad is it?" David asked quietly and didn't flinch under the filthy look that Dwayne shot at him.

"Why don't you come over here and see for yourself. Shit, sorry Paul." Dwayne quickly apologized when Paul cried out in pain. David closed his eyes for a moment and muttered something incoherent under his breath as he shrugged of both of his jackets and tossed them onto one of the arms of the tarnished chandelier.

"You gonna go after him?" Dwayne asked David as he glanced down at his bloodied hand and sucked his teeth at the amount of blood that Paul was loosing.

"No." David quietly replied as he went over to the tool box and quickly rummaged through the various shelves until he found what he was looking for.

"What do you mean no? I'll stay with Paul until Marko gets back and you go track down that bastard. We'll nail that fucker before sun-up." Dwayne said over his shoulder as he got up and hurried over to the busted four-poster bed and ripped the tattered gossamer curtains from it. Paul's wound was ugly and Dwayne knew that he had to get the bleeding to stop before Paul lost any more blood or else the vampire would be in serious trouble. What was it with Paul and near-fatal wounds? Right now Dwayne didn't care as he shredded the off-white curtains into thick strips and used them as make-shift bandages in order to keep Paul's guts from spilling out.

"Fuck…it…hurts." Paul hissed between clenched teeth as Dwayne carefully turned him onto his back in order to apply pressure to the gash.

"It looks worse than it is." Dwayne said off-handedly as he winced while carefully tucked back in an exposed part of Paul's large intestine. "You really gotta stop getting yourself torn up man." Dwayne tried to make light of the situation as he kept one hand on planted on the gash while he quickly began to wrap a length of fabric around Paul's side. "C'mon Paul, work with me here." He said as Paul flailed a bit under his touch, making it extremely difficult for Dwayne to do two things at once.

"Move over." David said as he crouched down on Paul's other side and snapped open a small folded knife that he had unearthed from the toolbox.

"Just use the bottle." Dwayne replied as he did what David said and carefully move to the side so that David could get close to Paul while making sure to keep constant pressure on Paul's injured side.

"It's not enough and we don't have much time." David growled under his breath. "Hold him steady." David said as he half-lifted Paul up into a somewhat sitting position. Paul howled out in pain when David moved him but between the two of them, David and Dwayne managed to keep him somewhat still as David wedged himself behind Paul so that Paul was leaning against his chest.

"You do this and there'll be no way we can beat this guy." Dwayne muttered in warning as he watched David brought the knife's tip to the side of his neck where the jugular vein was.

"Give him what's in the bottle when I'm done." David ordered as he clenched his teeth and plunged the knife into his neck, stabbing himself deep enough to pierce the vein. As a river of blood began to flow down his neck, David threw the knife away and lowered his head so that Paul could gain easy access to the wound. Instincts overriding caution spurred Paul into action and he instantly latched himself onto David's throat. David growled faintly as he held Paul to him while Dwayne looked on as he did his best to wrap up Paul's side. Slowly Paul became more animated as he drained David and the more he took from David, the paler David became to the point that he was as colorless as a four-day old corpse.

"Enough Paul." David pulled away when he felt that Paul was crossing the safe zone. If he had let Paul continue to feed from him, the vampire would most likely drain him to the point of death without realizing it.

"Need more…" Paul coughed as Dwayne went to retrieve the bottle of blood that was stashed away in a safe place while David grabbed one of the strips of cloth and pressed it to his neck. Dwayne returned a minute later and uncorked the bottle before he held it up to Paul's lips as Paul quickly drained its contents dry.

"You gonna be okay?" Dwayne asked David as he eyed his waxy and near-translucent complexion as well as the dark circles that had appeared under David's eyes.

"I'll live." David muttered wearily as he slowly lowered Paul back onto the ground so that Dwayne could finish fiddling with the bandages. Grabbing onto the cave wall for support, David struggled to stand up and had to rest against the wall for a moment when vertigo hit him. Dwayne quickly finished tying up the wraps and took off his jacket in order to stuff it behind Paul's head. It was too soon to move Paul and Dwayne was going to need help in lifting him for fear of making matters worse. Seeing that Paul wasn't going to die on them any time soon, Dwayne went to David aid just as Marko came running pell-mell into the cave.

"David, David! Max is coming! Shit you won't believe what I just saw. Some vampire baron guy just showed up at Max's place. David this guy was old school, I'm talking Dracula aristocratic old school. And now Max is on his way over and what the hell just happened?" Marko skidded to a halt as he caught sight of Paul lying in a pool of his own blood and Dwayne supporting David over to the couch. "What'd I miss?"

"Nothing you need to worry about right now. What did you say about Max?" David snapped as he sunk into the couch and swallowed hard.

"Wha? Oh, right. Um, Max. He's coming here right now. And I'm telling you David he doesn't look happy. I don't know what's going on but I think its trouble." Marko said as he nervously ran his hands through his hair, bouncing from one foot to the other as his adrenaline rush started to taper off.

"Shit." David swore as he tried to rise swiftly to his feet up his knees buckled and he collapsed back onto the couch.

"You okay David?" Marko asked as he gave David a look of alarm.

"Never mind me. Dwayne put Paul in Sarah's cave and make sure he stays quiet. Marko, cover up the blood and throw me my jackets. Don't just stand there, move!" David barked. The frantic tone in his voice made the others shut up and run to do what he told them. The only times that Max visited the cave was when there was serious trouble afoot and if David was frantic then there was a damn good reason for him to be. Marko grabbed David's jackets and tossed them at him while Dwayne picked Paul up as gently as he could.

"Sorry." Dwayne muttered as Paul let out a string of curse words as pain coursed through him but Dwayne just hurried off as carefully as he could while Marko grabbed a bunch of old newspapers and tattered blankets and used them to cover the bloodied patch on the floor.

"Why is the bottle empty?" Marko asked as he pitched it up and looked at David.

"Long story, just hide it somewhere." David growled as he slowly worked his way into both jackets and turned up the collar of his leather one in order to hide the bottom half of his face. Marko did what he was told and stashed the bottle in some obscure nook just as Max walked into the cave. Talk about prefect timing.

"Evening boys." Max said as he walked down the ramp while Marko quickly leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. David watched Max as he rested his left foot on his right knee, giving off the appearance that he was perfectly at ease with all this.

"What brings you down here?" David asked as Max glanced about the cave with his arms clasped behind his back.

"Oh I just wanted to see how you boys were doing. Where are the other two?" He asked without missing a beat.

"Right here. Paul's out with Sarah." Dwayne spoke up as he stalked into the cave, giving Max a brooding look before he went over to his bike and picked up oily rag in order to hide his bloodied hands from Max's gaze.

"Ah. I see you boys are doing what I asked. Very good." Max mused as he watched Dwayne wipe his hands with the rag. The pungent scent of the axel grease and oil was strong enough to cover up the scent of blood on him but it didn't make the slightest difference in the fact that the cave wreaked like a slaughterhouse. "I'm not interrupting anything am I?" Max asked David as he gave him a knowing look.

"Not all at. We just finished eating." David smiled slightly.

"Well then I won't keep you from doing whatever it was you boys were doing." Max smiled back and didn't say another word until David dropped his smile and lowered his gaze. "I just want you boys to know that an old friend of mine will be staying with me for a few days so I want you all to be on your best behavior, especially Paul. I will be keeping my eye on you so I will know if my rules are being obeyed. Also, David I want you to bring Sarah up to the house tomorrow night around ten o'clock. The rest of you can do whatever you like without having me breathe down your necks for once." Max chuckled as David, Marko and Dwayne just stared at Max, their faces set in stone.

"Ten o'clock?" David asked quietly as he arched an eyebrow.

"Ten o'clock sharp and don't be late. I'm counting on you David to make a good impression on the Baron." Max said as he nodded his head and headed for the mouth of the cave.

"Who's this Baron?" David asked as Max headed up the ramp. Max paused before he half-turned and gave David an unreadable half-smile.

"You'll find out tomorrow at 10 o'clock." He answered before he left the cave. The tension eased once Max was gone and David slumped forward a bit as he rubbed his hands tiredly over his face.

"I don't know about you guys but there is something seriously wrong about all this." Marko said as he glanced at the dark entrance and then at David.

"Marko's right. First Lincoln and now this? What's going on David?" Dwayne asked as he dropped the rag and made a lightning grab for one of the grey pigeons that were pecking away at a few tiny pebbles close by. Two of the birds flew off in a shower of feathers but the third wasn't so lucky. It flapped its wings frantically but in vain as Dwayne carried it to David and handed him the bird.

"Aw c'mon Dwayne." Marko muttered as he watched the pigeon being served as a replacement meal but he didn't say anything else when David pulled an Ozzy and bit its head off. David drained the plump bird and tossed its bloodless body at Marko who caught it and sighed. At least it hadn't been his favorite bird of the bunch.

"I have no idea what going on but I guess we'll just have to wait until tomorrow night to find out." David wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and shook his head. "Lincoln's appearance must have something to do with that vampire you saw Marko and if he does, well, things are going to get dangerous around here. Tomorrow night you and Paul stay here and Dwayne I want you keep an eye on the Boardwalk. If Lincoln is going to make another appearance, he'll do it there. We're going to have to be on our guard and if any of us gets backed into a corner, send out a signal. Max is up to something and we're in the middle of it."

"Okay, but who's Lincoln?" Marko asked as he chewed on his thumbnail, looking a tad bit out of the loop hole.

"He's an old problem that won't go away. Max banished him after he nearly revealed us to the public and now he's back. He got Paul and he'll try to get the rest of us if we let him. Don't let him get to you." David's last comment was directed at Dwayne.

"And what about Sarah? Do we tell her about all this?" Marko asked as he looked from David to Dwayne, bringing up a point that neither had given any thought to.

"No. If we do she'll run again and I won't chase after her again. I have a feeling she'll find out soon enough. Which reminds me, she should be back by now." David said as he successfully stood up without staggering. As if on cue the three looked to the cave entrance just as Sarah tried to tip-toe in without being seen or heard. She froze to the spot when she realized that she had been spotted.

"Sorry I'm late…I got a little sidetracked." Sarah apologized and wilted under the dark stares of the three vampires. Talk about busted.


	5. Twilight Trouble

**Greetings everyone!**

**It's about time I updated this story. This story is now going to be 20 chapters long. Give me a few more months and it will end up being 24 chapters like the last one. (shakes head) Well you know what that means, more writing and more reading. This chapter was actually the first part of the original chapter five but I figured I could cheat and cut the chapter in half. I will hopefully have the next part up in a week or two. Hopefully. **

**I'm not a car fanatic, heck my preferred mode of transportation is a horse, but I have to say. ****Lincoln****'s car is one mighty fine piece of machinery. I really like this car and I'm about as car illiterate as they come. I put a few pictures of the car up on ****Lincoln****'s pics on my site and I'm sure once you guys lay eyes on this baby, you'll fall in love with it too. There's nothing finer than good old fashion American muscle to make things all the more interesting. It's a damn shame you can't drive the type of car around anymore. But they make one hell of a collector's piece.**

**Happy ****Reading**

* * *

_Well folks that was some Led Zepplin for you all. It's Saturday night and the fun has barely begun so if you got a request, call in and let me know what you wanna hear and J.P Jones will be sure to play it loudly and proudly. Now this next song goes out to the biker boys in black down at the Boardwalk, you know who you are. Honest Abe wants to say thanks for the welcome home and to let Paula know that he's thinking of her. Well ain't that something. Well Honest Abe, whoever you are, here's your _Die Young_. Black Sabbath is hitting the sound-waves people. Let the good times roll._

Black Sabbath coursed through the small, beat-up radio that sat dejectedly on the tarnished night-stand by the unmade bed of a crumby motel room. The room was a complete and utter mess with sheets strewn across the floor, furniture knocked onto its side and clothes haphazardly thrown about. The only source of light in the pitch black room came from the tiny bathroom, but the single naked bulb did little more than cast shadows on the moldy walls.

_Go to the wind, though the wind wont help you fly at all  
Your backs to the wall  
Then chase the sun, and it tears away and it breaks you as you run,  
You run, you run!_

_Behind the smile, theres danger and a promise to be told:  
You never knew.  
Lifes fantasy - to be locked away and still to think youre free  
Youre free, were free!_

_So live for today  
Tomorrow never comes  
Die young_

"Die young. Got that right." Lincoln chuckled to himself as he carefully manovered the razor thin edge of his small skinning knife across his jawline with an expert hand. Since he, like all blood-sucking fiends, lacked a reflection he had to preform his weekly grooming ritual solely by touch and not once had he ever knicked off a single layer of skin. If there was one thing he liked to take pride in it was the fact that when it came to shaving and skinning, he was a master.

"Wew, would ya lookit that. Perfect every time." Lincoln cackled as he lowered the deadly knife and ran his free hand over his face. There wasn't even a hint of razor burn. "Lincoln my man, you are one good lookin' son-of-a-bitch."

Lincoln began to whistle along to the song as he applied the finishing touches to his brand-spanking new look. The shoulder-length hair was gone, what was left of it was greased and combed back in a ninteen-fiftees style ducks ass that made him look like an upstanding hoodlum and would have made John Travolta turn green with envy. There wasn't a single speck of blood, gore or dirt to be found on him and if he could have seen himself in the mirror hanging in front of him over the rust-ridden sink, he would not have recognized himself.

With maticulous care Lincon cleaned his knife with a wad of wet toilet paper and flushed it down the toilet along with the locks of his brown hair, leaving not a single strand of hair behind that could potentially be used as evidence when the police finally arrived. When the bathroom was rid of any trace of his presence, Lincoln sauntered into the bedroom and picked up his leather jacket that was lying on the floor.

"Now to get them chasin' their tails." He muttered to himself as he dug into the jacket's pockets and pulled out a small packet of cocain as well as a plastic zip-lock bag that contained a lock of long, dirty blond hair. Grinning like a jackel the entire time, Lincoln stepped over an upturned chair and made his way to where the bloodless bodies of two female prostitutes lay entangled with each other. It took Lincoln five minutes to set up the cocain on the floor and plant the strands of Paul's hair on the dead women and when he stepped back to admire his handy-work, he was mighty pleased with himself. When the investigators and law enforcement arrived, the carnage inside the motel room would be a classic example of drug use and murder. Police Chief Henry Morton was going to have a field day with this one when the press caught on. Another double homicide in two days? Santa Carla was going to be trembling in fear by the time Lincoln Dervish went along on his merry way.

"Hey hey Paula, I wanna marry you. Hey hey Paula, no one else could ever do." Lincoln sang to himself as he unearthed his boots from underneath the worn comforter and slipped them on. Next came jacket over his newly acquired black t-shirt and his two knives were the finishing touches. The skinning knife went back into its hidden place in his boot while the bowie was strapped to his belt like a 6-shot colt pistol. When all was said and done, Lincoln carefully scanned the room to make sure that everything was in place. When he was satisfied that all had gone according to plan, the crafty vampire whipped his keys out of his jacket pocket and strolled on out of the room without looking back. The coast was clear as he knew it would be and in a blink of an eye Lincoln vanished from sight. After earlier tampering with the motel owner's mind, Lincoln was in the safe so he didn't bother to hang around when there was other work to be done. He had had his fun now it was time to settle down and get serious. Even he could not refuse a direct order from the "meanest mother-fucker in the good ol' U S of A".

A few blocks away from the sleazy motel, the deep angry roar of an LS6 V8 engine filled the night down by the downtown warehouse district. A stray cat's surprised screech was sharply cut short when it met its untimely end under the firestone tires of an American muscle car. Lincoln ran his tongue over his fangs as he laughed out loud and fondly patted the dashboard of the black and white 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle. The car seemed to respond to his actions with a deep throated purr that was anything but friendly.

"More'n one way ta skin a cat eh Baby?" Lincoln grinned as Baby snarled a guttural agreement. With Lincoln behind the wheel of one of the toughest asphalt eaters in the country, Santa Carla was about to have its ass handed to it without it even knowing it.

"Let's have us some fun." Lincoln smirked to himself as he lowered a pair of tinted Aviators onto his face and gunned the engine. Like a rabid bat out of hell, the vampire peeled out of the abandoned warehouse with a squeal of tires that was loud enough to set the stray dogs barking.

Down at the Boardwalk, Tory blew a large pink bubble and popped it with her tongue as she sat on the metal side railing that lined the Boardwalk, lazily swinging her legs back and forth as she watched Ian walk towards her.

"Didn't find her huh?" Tory asked as she chewed on her wad of strawberry flavored bubble gum.

"She said that she'd show. Where could she be?" Ian asked as he leaned against the rail and kept his eyes on the people walking past them, trying to see if he could spot the unique patched jean jacket among the multicolored crowd.

"You're asking me? My guess is she stiffed us. I don't know why but right now I'm really starting not to care where she's gone." Tory grumbled moodily as she cracked another bubble and sighed. She drummed her hands on the railing in time with the music that was playing on the speakers and for a while neither she nor Ian said anything.

"Do you think she went home?" Tory asked, catching Ian's attention for a moment.

"Why would she go home?" He asked her. Tory just shrugged her shoulders and tried to make it seem that none of this was any concern of hers.

"Don't know. Just asking." She said and went back to swaying her body in time with the music.

"Who were those guys she said she was hanging with last night? Maybe she's with them." Ian theorized as the two remained where they were, watching everyone flow past while silently hoping for Sarah to materialize out of the throng.

"Bup. She never said. She just said she was staying with a bunch of homeless guys near the Boardwalk. You don't think anything happened…do you?" Tory asked as she tucked the wad of gum under her tongue for a second so that she could dig out a popcorn kernel that was stuck between her molars.

Ian shook his head and muttered something as he ran his hand through his shaggy hair in order to get it out of his eyes. "That's what I'm worried about. Did you hear what happened yesterday? It was on the news today and in all the papers. Triple homicide in the red light district. Bunch of teenage girls had their throats ripped out." He shuddered as an image of the murders popped into his mind.

"You don't think that maybe…" Tory didn't bother finishing her question because she knew that Ian understood what she was trying to say.

"I don't think so. She didn't seem the type. Too new." Ian muttered as he kicked away a busted bottle cap. Tory nodded in agreement and continued to sway, chewing her gum loudly as Ian slouched beside her, the two of them lost in thought.

Both Ian and Tory stared dumbfounded when they caught sight of Sarah astride a motorcycle that suddenly roared past them, driven by none other than one of the more unsavory characters that haunted the Boardwalk. Tory accidentally bit her tongue when she got a good look at the driver and without realizing it she swallowed her wad of gum whole. Ian just stared with his mouth hanging slightly opened as the bike merged with the crowd of people and vanished from view a few seconds later, the sound of the bike's engine still ringing in his ears.

As if caught in the twilight zone, Ian and Tory turned their heads and looked at each other, stunned.

"Well at least we know she's not dead." Tory said in a quiet almost timid voice that was so unlike her.

"Yet." Ian said as he climbed the railing and tried to see if he could find the motorcycle over the heads of all the people. He caught a glimpse of Sarah's back as David drove off the Boardwalk and took a left. Ian knew that the road snaked along the coast, past the high-end homes that were located in expensive, up-scale part of downtown Santa Carla.

"C'mon." Tory said as she jumped off her perch and tugged the back of Ian's battered bomber jacket.

"Where are we going?" Ian asked as he jumped onto the ground and followed his best friend as she headed towards the corndog stand. Tory didn't respond as she went past the stand and marched over to where a bunch of older teens were hanging out around an assortment of low-end motorcycles and dirt-bikes.

"Hey Brooke. Lend us your bike for an hour?" Tory asked straight out as she tapped one of the guys on the shoulder and stood back with her arms folded across her chest, her tough chick persona making its grand appearance. Ian hung back as the group's attention focused on Tory, who didn't flinch from under their guarded stares.

"Yeah right." Brooke snorted as he palmed a cigarette off one of his friends and lit it.

"I mean it Brooke. Can we borrow your bike for an hour? It's an emergency." Tory said as she tapped her foot and glared up at him, giving him her best "try me and die" look as he looked at her from over his shoulder. "_You owe me_." She mouthed silently and Brooke's expression darkened momentarily before he arched an eyebrow and took a drag on his cigarette.

"I want it back in an hour. If you're late, I'll take it out of your hide." He muttered as he took the key out of his pocket and tossed it to Tory. Ian couldn't hide his surprise as Tory easily caught the key and nodded her head.

"We won't be late." She said as she pushed her way through the group with her head held high while Ian carefully made his way around the group, meeting Tory on the other side.

"What was that all about?" Ian asked, making sure to keep his voice as low as possible so that Brooke and company would not be able to hear him. Tory flashed him a satisfied smirk as she walked over to a battered dirt-bike that had defiantly seen better days. It wasn't much to look at but at least it was something.

"Just getting a debt paid. I bailed him out when the cops were gonna get him for dealing pot and I'm glad I did." She murmured back as she eyed the bike for a moment and swung on, fully aware that their every move was being watched by the others. "I scratch his back, he scratches mine. You know how it is. Get on."

"Tory you don't know how to ride a dirt-bike." Ian said as he watched her key the ignition and coaxed the old bike to life. The engine coughed once before it rattled steadily while Tory motioned for him to mount the bike.

"Yeah I know. But you do." She grinned as she scooted back and patted the empty space in front of her.

"This isn't a good idea. What are we going to do? Follow them?" Ian muttered as he stole a glance over his shoulder. The other guys had lost interest in what was going on but Brooke was still watching them and Ian didn't feel comfortable under the guy's unblinking gaze.

"Ian, Sarah could be in trouble. What kind of friends would we be if we just sat here and did nothing? That guy could have it in for her and we're standing here arguing. Just get on Ian." She sighed as she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him forward so that he didn't have a choice.

"I thought you said you didn't care about what happened to her." Ian gingerly mounted the bike and flipped up the kickstand with his foot as he got a feel for the handlebars. It had been a while since he had last hotwired a bike and took it on a joy ride.

"Ian since when do you ever listen to what I say? Drive." Tory said as she tucked her feet behind Ian's and wrapped her arms tightly around his middle. The bike wasn't made to hold two riders but they really didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Ian muttered something under his breath but the sudden pitch in the bike's volume blocked out his words.

With a high pitched whine, Ian and Tory took off in the direction that Sarah had gone and once they made their way out of the Boardwalk Ian took the same left that David had and picked up speed. He had no idea how they were going to find Sarah and if they did, what would they do? Both he and Tory had heard the rumors that were whispered around the bon fires late at night about the four bikers that only came out after sunset and prowled the down town core as if they owned the place. No one knew what their story was and no one wanted to find out because everyone knew that if you got in their way, you'd end up having your picture plastered on another Missing Persons add. And Santa Carla was covered in Missing Persons adds.


	6. The Tradeoff

**Greetings Sports fans! **

**Before I say anything, I'm letting you know that some of the content of this chapter may be disturbing to certain readers. Also, I may have to bump the story to M if things continue on this stream of thought, so I am letting you all know now just incase I do end up changing the rating. **

**Now with that out of the way, we can get down to business. I'm finally back in the saddle after wrestling a nasty bout of writer's block, but unfortunately I am still feeling the after effects of it. Also I also want to remind you all to check out and sign the petition that has been made on the Lost Cave in regards to the supposed sequel that Warner Bros wants to create. C'mon fellow Lost Boys lovers, let's give one for the home team! **

**Happy Reading.**

* * *

David's eyes never strayed from the wet asphalt as he cut his speed slightly and leaned into a sharp right-hand turn that forced Sarah to tighten the grip she had on him, least she accidentally tumble off the back of the bike. Despite the slick road conditions that was a result of the heavy rain shower that drenched Santa Carla that afternoon, the Triumph roared into the night as David went twenty above the speed limit. Usually he was a bit more careful when it came to navigating the winding road that led straight to Max's place but tonight David was having a hard time keeping a firm hold on his simmering anger. After having all day to brood over Lincoln's unexpected arrival and his deliberate attempt to butcher Paul for the sole purpose of annoying the heck out of him, David was not in the best of moods.

The Triumph seemed to snarl out David's frustration and annoyance as he narrowed his eyes ever so slightly and opened the throttle a bit more. Sarah let out a small gasp before she squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face into the back of David's jacket. Her arms that were wrapped around his stomach tightened but David didn't care. The two vampires road on in silence and every so often a faint growl that was barely audible would escape him and Sarah could feel the growls vibrate through the multiple layers of his jackets and it scared her.

"David," Sarah turned her face away from his shoulder so that her words weren't muffled by fabric, "is it my fault that you're in trouble with Max? I'm sorry."

David's face didn't change as he picked her words out from the intense growl of his motorcycle. His eyes grew a little harder and his grip on the handlebars became a little firmer but other than that he gave no indication that he had heard her. Sarah swallowed hard before she hid her face behind David once more. She usually enjoyed riding with David and the others, she had always been a bit of a speed freak but there was something about that night that made her feel sick inside. It was almost as if she could feel that something bad was going to happen and she wasn't the only one.

Sarah didn't look up again until the bike slowed to a crawl and halted alongside the white painted fence that encompassed most of Max's vast property. Blinking hard in order to get rid of the dry eye feeling she had, Sarah dismounted first and crossed her arms over her chest as a chill ran through her. That was when she noticed something different about Max's house.

"David, who's car is that?" She asked quietly as she eyed the hulking black and white muscle car that sat in the spot where Max usually parked his red convertible. David eyed the Chevelle for a moment before he twisted his keys out of the ignition and stuffed them into his pocket while stepping away from the bike.

"Let's go." He said gruffly as he walked around the bike and grabbed Sarah by the arm before he stalked towards the walkway that led to Max's front door.

"David you're hurting me." Sarah said as she tried to match David's long strides but once again her words fell on deaf ears. David scowled darkly when he saw Thorn, Max's personal hound of hell, sitting vigilantly by the door as if he had been waiting for them to arrive. The white Shepard pressed his ears back slightly when David and Sarah approached and let out a loud bark to alert his master that the ones he had been waiting for had finally arrived.

"Something bad is going to happen isn't it?" Sarah asked David in a tiny voice when he let her go and stood between her and the closed front door.

"Whatever you do, don't speak unless he tells you to." David muttered back and steeled himself for what was to come. He didn't know what Max had planned but judging from what he seen happen to the last six girls that had crossed Max's doorstep, David was prepared for what he thought would be another long night.

Neither of them had any idea of just how long that night would be.

"Ten o'clock on the dot. It's good to see that you are still capable of being punctual." Max said as he opened the door and beckoned David and Sarah to enter. David resisted the urge to glare at Max as he stepped over the threshold and into the extravagant hallway but Sarah hesitated for a moment as she looked fearfully up at Max. A sharp snap from Thorn sent her leaping past Max and into David while Max just chuckled quietly as he patted Thorn fondly on the head as the Shepard entered last.

"Still not much of a dog person are you?" Max asked Sarah, who just shook her head and kept her eyes downcast, not daring to look at either the head vampire or his devil dog. "Well, why don't we all go into the parlor? There is someone there that I'd like for you both to meet."

Thorn padded lazily past as Max led the way to the large parlor and when they saw who was waiting there, both David and Sarah stopped in their tracks when they entered the room. Lounging on one of Max's large white leather sofas, Lincoln turned his head and gave David a lazy grin while he rolled a toothpick around in his mouth with his tongue. When Sarah hissed faintly and stepped behind David, Lincoln laughed and looked over his shoulder at the cause of the young vampire's distress. Oh it wasn't Lincoln who had Sarah cowering behind David. He knew he was good, but he knew his boss was better. It was pretty obvious.

"David, Sarah, I'd like to introduce you to an old friend of mine. This is Baron Lucard Brahm Tepes III. The Baron has come a long way to meet you Sarah." Max said matter-of-factly as he stood off to the side to watch how this little scene would play out.

Standing beside the marble fireplace, that was clearly only used as a show piece, was a tall dark man who seemed to tower over the rest of them. It wasn't just his physical build that filled the room, for in height he was a good half a head taller than Max, but it was also his very presence that seemed to dwarf his surroundings. David found himself instinctively taking on a more submissive stance, which was something that he never did in front of anyone unless he was physically forced to. In his and Sarah's eyes the baron was huge, huge in power and huge in being. The baron was a force of nature onto himself, and one to be reckoned with.

"The pleasure is mine Sarah." Lucard spoke softly and in perfect English as he nodded his head in Sarah's direction. David blinked in surprise. For a minute there he had expected the whole Transylvanian Bela Lugosi accent, but instead of the stereotypical Dracula persona, Lucard came off as an old-money businessman. Somehow this did nothing to quell the voice of warning that was nagging him from the corner of his mind.

Max waited a moment before he cleared his throat and gave Sarah a stern look. Sarah swallowed hard, not once but twice, before she slowly edged out from behind David. "Hello."

Lucard's dark brown eyes seemed warm compared to his polished and chiseled exterior and when he smiled, Sarah instantly stopped trembling. "I see that my unexpected presence seems to have startled you. For that I am sorry."

"It's…it's alright." Sarah timidly responded, surprising herself that she even had the nerve to say anything. Max took this as his cue and stepped towards Sarah, blocking David out completely as he placed his hand on her shoulder. The second his hand touched her Sarah froze like a deer caught in headlights. This reaction did not go unnoticed by Lucard and when his eyes flickered to Max, the head vampire faintly shook his head.

"Now that Max has so kindly introduced me to you, allow me to introduce one of my own. Sarah this is Lincoln." Lucard gestured to Lincoln, whose coy grin broadened as he winked at her.

"Hey there." He said as he took the toothpick out of his mouth. "Is it just me or does she kinda remind ya of Little Red Ridin' Hood? I swear it's gotta be those eyes. Those pretty terrified hazel eyes. If I didn't know better I'd say that that was real fear in them eyes." Lincoln quietly laughed to himself as he started to pick his eyeteeth with the toothpick.

"How observant of you." Lucard said, his tone slightly dry.

"Glad you think so." Lincoln mused as he continued to pick his teeth, not at all concerned with his master's reaction. After all, this was all just a game, a vampire version of chess where the two masters pitted their own against each other in order to gain that ever coveted upper-hand.

"Do not mind Lincoln. Sometimes his mouth is smarter than his brain." Lucard reassured Sarah as he beckoned her to come closer with a friendly wave of his hand. "Do not worry my dear; I can assure you that I do not bite." The genuine smile on his face warmed his eyes even more and though Max was holding her in place, Sarah slowly relaxed. She didn't move for a minute as she watched him with a cautious expression but those eyes of his just seemed so friendly and for a moment she didn't know why she was so frightened to begin with. Oh sure Max was right beside her but that was Max. Lucard didn't seem to be anything like Max so why should she not move a little closer?

"I can't believe you just said that." Lincoln snorted at the overused cliché that Lucard had used.

"Lincoln." Lucard's voice didn't change this time but the smart-mouthed vampire got the message.

"Alright, alright." He tucked the toothpick behind his right ear as he heaved himself off the couch and sauntered over to where David was standing, making sure that he went around the couch so that he wouldn't cut in front of Sarah or Max. "Now we wait for the fun to begin." Lincoln murmured to David as he stood right beside him and crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes locked on Sarah as she stepped away from Max.

David glared at Lincoln out of the corner of his eye but did not make any move to step away from his old blood brother/rival. Lincoln caught the look and a slow, knowing smile crept over his scarred face. "You have no idea of what's goin' on do you? Shoo boy, you're in for one helluva surprise." And with that Lincoln quickly cracked the kink out of his neck and settled down to wait for what was coming.

A flicker of fear flashed through David's eyes as he focused his attention on Lucard and a faint realization slowly came to him. With Max standing on one side and Lucard on the other, Sarah looked like a little songbird caught between two hungry alley cats and didn't realize it.

"Is she a runner or a fighter? My money's on runner." Lincoln muttered out of his corner of his mouth without moving his lips as Sarah faltered halfway and looked back at Max.

"Go on." Max said with a nod of his head. While everyone watched in anticipation that only Sarah seemed unaware of, she quickly walked forward. Lucard smiled.

"I'm glad to see that you have some trust in me. Trust is a very important part of my world. Tell me Sarah, do you trust me?" He asked as she stared up at him, their eye contact never breaking.

Sarah didn't say anything for a moment as she thought about the question and when she answered her voice didn't quiver like it had moments ago. "Should I?"

"Should you? Well that is entirely up for you to decide." Lucard chuckled, as did Max and Lincoln as if it was some private inside joke that they all shared.

"Then I haven't decided yet." Sarah crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head to the side, giving Lucard a skeptical look all the while staring him in the eye. Lincoln snorted back a laugh and cleared his throat as Max slowly turned and gave him a scrutinizing stare. Instead of looking away Lincoln flashed Max his most patronizing smile and gave him the finger. Boy did that sure surprise Max.

"Is that so? Well I can respect that. I enjoy a woman who speaks her mind." He said in a way that slyly coaxed a shy smile from Sarah. "You are very pretty when you smile, do you know that? Not many people can light up a room with a simple smile." Lucard murmured quietly as he carefully looked her over, appraising what he was seeing with a critical eye in a way that did not make it the least bit obvious. "So innocent and so full of life. So untouched." He gently caressed Sarah's cheek with his hand and instead of shying away like she would have normally done; Sarah blushed and looked away shyly.

"Nnnn…" David choked before he burst into a fit of coughing. No one paid him any attention as he cleared his throat and swallowed. What the hell? David looked sharply at Max, but the head vampire had his back turned to him and seemed to be focused entirely on Lucard and Sarah. Lincoln kept grinning like a jackal as he looked straight ahead and when David tried to step forward, Lincoln's smile tightened into wicked sneer.

"_Told you he was one mean mother-fucker._" Lincoln's voice chuckled in David's mind as David's anxiety level shot up instantly. He couldn't move. Literally, he couldn't move from where he was standing. Something had him frozen to the spot.

"_What the hell is going on!_" David's voice snarled back and as a response, Lincoln ran his tongue over his teeth and cracked his knuckles. David tried once more to move forward, but his legs wouldn't obey.

"_Watch and learn Davey-boy. Just sit tight and watch how the big guns do business. Nothin' else you can do is there? _" Lincoln purred viciously as David clenched his teeth and growled. His narrowed eyes were the only sign that gave away his internal struggle as he strained with all his might to move even an inch in any direction but whatever it was that had him, it had him good.

"Where did you find this one?" Lucard asked Max, giving the head vampire of Santa Carla a questioning look as he casually tucked a wayward strand of Sarah's hair behind her ear. A faint frown appeared on her face but she just shrugged the comment off as nothing. After all, she didn't have anything to be afraid of. Standing near Lucard made her feel safe. It was a feeling that she hadn't felt in a long time and she really didn't want it to go away. Sarah moved closer to Lucard and didn't mind at all when the baron wrapped his arm around her shoulders in a fatherly embrace.

"San Francisco. When I saw her I knew I could not let the opportunity pass. You do not find them so innocent anymore, not at her age." Max replied as he adjusted his glasses and smiled slightly.

"Indeed. The youth today are not what they used to be back in our day." Lucard mused as he glanced down at Sarah for a moment. "Is she marked?"

"Ah, no. I used the other method because I knew that you preferred them without the marks." Max cleared his throat and Lucard nodded slowly.

"It is quite thoughtful of you to consider me after everything that has happened to us in the past. I am very touched." He said with a slight nod of his head, one that Max instantly mirrored. Vampire politics, when in negations always be polite and unreadable and always keep the cards close to the chest.

"Well that is all water under the bridge as they say." Max chuckled. The smile on his face did not reach his eyes. "So, does she suit your interest?" He asked the other vampire, getting down to business.

"Indeed she does. She is a very rare find and I would call myself a fool to not accept your offer." Lucard said the tone of his voice shifting from friendly comrade to hard businessman in a heart beat.

Sarah shook her head slightly and tried to make sense of what the baron had just said. The new tone of his voice jarred her slowly back to reality and with it came the paralyzing fear that had overcome her when she first entered the house.

"Then you agree to give me California, am I correct?" Max asked, wording his question carefully so that he did not accidentally tip the balance in the barons favor. Lucard nodded slowly and the deal was done. "Well then, that is great news. And the other elders, will they be made aware of the negotiation?"

"In a few days I will be attending a meeting with the Heads of the East Coast and that is when I shall let them know. Do not worry Von Ruben, my word is my bond. I will not go back on it. I can assure you." Lucard said calmly as he shifted his gaze from Max to Sarah and then back to Max.

"Then our business is finished." Max said as he squared his shoulders and looked Lucard in the eye. "She is now yours to do with what you will. I hope this one satisfies your expectations, unlike the others. It was quite unfortunate to hear how they turned out. I never would have imagined it."

_Others_.

Max had said something about the others. Sarah's eyes widened when she figured out that the others that Max was talking about could only mean the girls whose names were written on the cave wall. Who else could they be? Sarah tried to catch David's eye, but with Max standing in the way there was no way for her to verify if her suspicions were true. Had she been able to see the expression on David's face, her suspicions would have been proven true in a heartbeat.

"Why Dave, you're lookin' a little green around the gills. What's wrong, get the wind knocked outta ya?" Lincoln asked David when the pallor of David's skin became the colour of bleached bone. "Sure is a kicker ain't it? I'm surprised you did figure this all out sooner." Lincoln laughed as he moved away from David and positioned himself so that he was standing in the middle of the parlor entrance. "Now comes the fun part." He winked at David before he slouched into a fighter's crouch.

Only Lincoln would find sadistic enjoyment in such an abhorred custom, despite the fact that what was about to happen to Sarah had happened to him years ago.

"It happens more often than not. Fledglings in this day and age cannot seem to cope with the concept of ownership. I blame the Civil War for that." Lucard said in a tone that sent chills down Sarah and David's spine. "Well Von Ruben, I have taken up enough of your time and hospitality. I do hope we can continue to have dealings in the future."

"As do I. But before you go…" Max trailed off deliberately as he looked at Sarah.

"Ah yes. It is never a pleasant experience but it must be done. Do you mind?" Lucard asked Max and even though Sarah didn't have a clue as to what Lucard was talking about she managed to put two and two together really quickly and figured that if she didn't get herself out of there now something bad was going to happen and it was going to happen to her. It was high time that Sarah got her butt in motion and that is exactly what she did.

"Screw you!" Sarah spat as she slammed the heel of her boot down on Lucard's foot has hard as she could before Max could reply. She knew that it wouldn't do much but her sudden action seemed to have startled Lucard and that was all Sarah needed. David felt a sudden rush of air brush against him as Sarah passed him at full-speed but despite Sarah's lightning dash for freedom, she couldn't get past Lincoln.

"Bastard!" Sarah yelled as Lincoln caught her in a full-out bear-hug as he lunged to the side and fell backwards from the force of Sarah's impact. It took him half a second to pin Sarah's arms to her sides and lock her legs together as he wrapped himself around her like a boa constrictor. Sarah's chance of making it out of the house was gone the second Lincoln hit the ground.

"Get your hands off me! David! Help!" Sarah hissed and spat as she tried to free herself but being rendered completely immobile by Lincoln's body hold, she could do little more that wriggle about like a worm on a hook.

"Easy now there little miss fussy. No need to loose that pretty head of yours." Lincoln growled as he fought to keep his ankles locked together around her legs. Sarah screamed something awful before Lincoln rolled off his back and pinned her face down on the hardwood floor in the hallway.

"Sonofa…let go…David…" Various threats, curses, and cries for help filled the house as Lincoln held on, riding out the storm with professional ease as Sarah gave her all into fighting Lincoln's impossible grip. Max and Lucard just watched everything from the parlor, having seen and experience it all over and over again for as long as either of them could remember. It was nothing new to them, merely a necessary nuisance. To David however, it was a punch in the gut.

"_Let her go."_ David's voice snarled in Lincoln's head but it did little more than piss off the busy vampire.

"Oh go fuck yourself David." Lincoln snarled back loudly and Max just shook his head.

"David let Lincoln do his job." Max said and David stared at him, dumbfounded by the insincerity that his leader had for what was going on. Sarah was one of them for Christ sake! There was no love between him and Sarah to begin with but what David was witnessing made his skin crawl. It was the reality of it all that scared David to the core. If this could happen to Max's little pet, then Sarah's fate could be his if Max ever felt like bartering him off for his own personal gain. The bile rose in the back of his throat and David felt like he was about to puke.

"C'mon kid don't make me hurt you now." Lincoln growled as Sarah refused to give up and submit.

"Let me go and I'll return the favor asshole." Sarah hissed angrily as she tried to bite Lincoln.

"We're gonna have to teach this one a few manners. Quite the little fighter even if she don't look it. Guess I was wrong." Lincoln laughed out-loud as he rolled across the floor and wedged Sarah between himself and the wall, forcing her up against it so that she had no room to turn her head.

"Stop fooling around." Lucard commanded in a stern voice as he entered the hallway, followed closely by Max just in case an extra pair of hands was needed. David could do little more than follow them all with his eyes and when the two head vampires stepped out of his line of vision, he had little choice but to listen to what was going on a mere few feet away from him.

"Trust me boss, I ain't foolin'." Lincoln growled as Sarah tried once more to break Lincoln's hold, an act born out of complete desperation at the approach of the baron.

"Hold her still." Lucard murmured as he grabbed Lincoln and easily pulled him away from the wall before he stepped over him.

"What the hell do ya think I'm tryin' to do? Quit movin' you little…" Lincoln snapped before he nipped her nice and hard on the ear. Sarah let out a screech that made the hairs on the back of David's neck stand on end.

"Please, please don't do this. Max don't let him do this. Please, please Max." Sarah begged when Max crouched down and placed his hands on either side of her face in order to keep her head still. When that happened, Sarah froze once more as tears began to stream from the corners of her eyes.

"Ya got her head?" Lincoln asked as he shifted his body slightly so that he was on his back and Sarah was exposed on top of him.

"Oh god. Please don't do this. Please…" Sarah whimpered as Lucard loomed over her. She flinched when he touched her shoulder and instinctively tried to shy away but Max tilted her head to the side in order to expose the base of her neck from beneath the collar of her jacket. Lucard ignored her tear-filled pleas as he pulled away her jacket and her shirt in order to bare the base of her neck and shoulder.

Whenever a fledgling is created by a head vampire or traded to one, a permanent scar is given on a specific location on the body that is associated with the head vampire. It can be considered as a mark of ownership that identifies the fledgling vampire to his or her maker throughout the vampire community. David had been marked by Max when he was turned, the scar carefully hidden on his right upper arm. When Lincoln was traded into Lucard's possession decades ago, he went through the same ritual that was about to be preformed on Sarah. Lucard's mark of identification was on the base of the neck on the left side. However in order to make the scarring permanent, Lucard had to undo what Max had done which meant draining Max's essence from her and substituting it with his own.

"Ready?" Lincoln muttered to Lucard as he tensed in anticipation.

"David help me! God, don't let them do this David! David!" Sarah cried out when Lucard gently placed his hand on her bare shoulder, his touch sending a wave of unnatural coldness through her that numbed her entire body. Despite the awkward positioning, Lucard leaned forward and Sarah squealed out with unbridled fear as she saw him morph into his vampire self. The sight of his face was enough to set her off into hysterics.

David closed his eyes and clenched his teeth as hard as he could in order to block out the sound of Sarah's near hysterical sobs but it was no use. He could hear it all and he could do nothing.

"Easy now, easy." Lincoln quietly murmured in Sarah's ear at the same moment Lucard drove his fangs into her neck. "It'll be over soon, c'mon, easy." At first Sarah's vampire instincts kicked in and she tried to struggle but soon the sobs died off as Lucard drained her and when she went completely limp and lifeless, Lucard pulled away and swallowed. Max reached over and carefully lifted Sarah off Lincoln before he placed her in Lucard's waiting arms. Lucard acted fast with skilled ease as he checked her blank, staring eyes to make sure that he had not drained her past the point of saving. Despite her lifeless appearance, Lucard could sense that a spark of life remained and he slashed open his wrist with his fangs in order to rekindle that spark.

Lincoln rose to his feet and turned away from the scene, leaving Max and Lucard alone to finish up what had to be done. He ran his hand nervously through his hair, completely messing up his already ruffled hairdo as he stepped into the parlor. David was still standing there, not having budged an inch, but instead of making some rude, off-handed remark that David fully expected him to make, Lincoln just walked up to him and stood in front of him. David opened his eyes and the two stared at each other for a long moment.

"He _owns_ you." Lincoln muttered quietly so that only David could hear. "Don't you forget it. He owns your ass and there's nothing you can do about it. Don't you _ever_ forget that."

David blinked but didn't make any sort of reply as Lincoln reaffirmed this newly learned truth. David was not his own master and he never would be while Max lived and lorded over him.

"Watch your back Dave and always sleep with one eye open." With that Lincoln stepped away and went back into the hallway where Lucard was waiting for him.

"Take her to the house and make sure she wakes before sunrise." Lucard said as Lincoln nodded and took Sarah up in his arms.

"And you?" Lincoln asked as he looked from Lucard and then to Max.

"I will join you before sunrise." That was all Lucard said before he turned to Max. The two said nothing and with a nod, Lucard strode out of the house and into the night, leaving Lincoln to care for Sarah until she awoke.

Once Lucard had left, Max turned to Lincoln and stepped towards him, swallowing the distance between them in a single stride.

"Try not to ruin this one like you did the others. I'm tired of having to repeatedly go through this." Max growled before he walked off down the hallway just as Thorn appeared. The dog gave Lincoln a low growl before he turned and padded after Max. Lincoln muttered something incoherent under his breath as he adjusted his hold and carried Sarah out to the car, walking right past David without even looking at him.

Once Lucard's presence could no longer be felt on the premises, David was able to move again. He waited to make sure that he was alone before he went over to the sofa and sunk down onto it, running his hands over his face. Taking a deep breath, David lowered his hands and stared at them. They were shaking.

The sudden roar of the Chevelle coming to life made David jump slightly and it was enough to prod him into action. David was off the couch and out of the house in a flash, just in time to see the headlights of Lincoln's car sweep past him as he pulled out of the driveway and drove off with a screech of tires. Not wanting to stay anywhere near Max for another minute, David yanked out his keys and mounted the Triumph as quickly as he could. He keyed the ignition and kick started the bike to life before he swung the motorcycle in a wide arch and peeled away from Max's house in a shower of gravel, heading straight for the cave and the others.

Kneeling stock still in the underbrush where they had been able to witness this strange turn of events, Tory and Ian stared in the direction that David had gone, both of them not daring to so much as breathe until they were sure that the coast was finally clear.

"What the fuck?" Tory whispered as she and Ian looked at each other in shock and confusion.


	7. When there's trouble, call the Frogs

**Greetings folks!**

**Finally, this chapter is done. Sorry I haven't been writing for the past little while. Writer's block, school work, hell, high water...the usual's been keeping me busy. But this chapter is done and the next one is half written so I'll hopefully have that one up in a week or two. The funniest thing happened when I was beating my head against my desk while trying to write this thing. The plotline I worked out for the story now no longer fits where it's going. I swear these characters better make up their minds soon because every time I plan to write something it always turns out differently. So it's now official, I have no idea how this story is going to end. This ought to be one hell of read then...if I ever manage to finish it. **

**Happy reading**

* * *

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

"Open up! Frogs! Open the damn door or I'll break it down!" Tory shouted as loudly as she could as she pounded her fists against the locked doors of the _Cosmic Comics_ shop, the one that was owned by the Frog parents but run and maintained by the brothers.

It hadn't taken Ian and Tory long to get back to the Boardwalk, especially since they had driven at break-neck speed to get as far away from the house in as little time as possible. Brooke had been surprised to see his bike returned to him before the hour was through but didn't say a thing when Tory handed back his keys without so much as a snarky side-comment.

"Tory will you shut up? You're going to attract the security guards if you keep this up!" Ian hissed between clenched teeth as he glanced around fearfully, fully expecting the brown uniformed guards to be breathing down their necks. Yet if Tory heard him, she didn't show it or she didn't care.

"FROGS! I know you're in there! Open…the…damn…door…!" Tory's voice rose higher and higher as she slammed her fists against the doors. Breathing hard she took a step back and eyed the doors for a second. Ian breathed a sigh of relief until Tory snorted and ran at the doors at full speed like a charging bull.

_Wham!_

"Oh Christ my shoulder!" Tory swore as she hopped around in a circle, cradling her throbbing shoulder with her good hand. Ian muttered something under his breath as he made a grab for Tory, but she jerked out of reach before he could touch her.

"Tory they're not here. Let's go already." Ian growled as he stared down his best friend. They were both scared silly but neither of them would outwardly admit it. What they had seen back at the house, neither of them could explain it, but that didn't mean they had to run around the Boardwalk drawing attention to themselves. They didn't know who could be watching from the shadows.

"We're not going anywhere until we get some answers." Tory growled back and she was the first one to look away. "Fuck this." Tory sniffed and braced her left hand against the door for balance before she raised her foot and began to kick the door for all she was worth. If her shouting didn't attract the Frogs attention then maybe a dented door would.

"Tory!" Ian cried, remembering to keep his voice lowered but all Tory did was shake her head and kick harder.

"Shut up and help me damn it." Tory snapped as she switched feet and began kicking with her left.

"What the hell is your problem!"

Ian jumped a mile when Edgar poked his head out from a small door that was just left of the main doors. He hadn't heard a sound until Edgar spoke up, glaring darkly at Tory who gave the store doors a final kick for good measure.

"Shut up!" She spat as she adjusted her jacket and stomped over to the side door that probably led to the back of the store.

"You shut up!" Edgar growled as he kept the door half-closed and didn't budge when Tory tried to push her way past him. He and Tory stared each other down, bristling like a pair of dog that were ready to take each other on while Ian gnawed on his fingernails as he kept shooting fearful glances at the shadows that surrounded them.

"What's going on?" Allan's voice cut through the heated tension like a knife.

"We need to talk." Ian stepped forward and gave Edgar a pleading look as he tried to haul Tory back a few steps. Ian could hardly get Tory to do anything she didn't want to do on a good day and today wasn't a good day.

"Move it you." Tory barked as she butted the door with her other shoulder, forcing Edgar back a few steps but once again Edgar took a stand and Tory realized that trying to push past this guy was pointless. He was just as stubborn as she was.

"Why should I?" Edgar gruffly asked as Tory looked him over, sizing him up just as he was doing to her. It was an all-out face-off and neither of them was willing to back down.

"Because you're about a second away from loosing a part of your anatomy that you really don't wanna lose, that's why." Tory gave Edgar a too-sweet smile as she cracked her knuckles. Ian knew what was going to happen next, having seen it all before and quickly tried to butt in but the doorway wasn't big enough to fit two people at once and Tory shoved him back with her elbow as he attempted to worm his way between her and Edgar.

"Tory will you chill for a second?" Ian clamped onto the back of her painted jacket and planted himself behind her in a vain attempt to keep her from doing something to the elder Frog that they were all going to regret.

"No." Typical Tory reply, Ian wasn't surprised. And neither was Edgar.

"You really think that's gonna intimidate me?" Edgar scoffed, taking a step forward so that he and Tory were standing toe to toe in the narrow doorway. Tory looked down at his crossed arms and after a moment she took a step back. Edgar smirked while Ian let out a soft sigh and that was when Tory made her move.

"Damn straight!" Tory barked as she slipped her arms out of her jacket and moved like lightening. Lunging forward Tory grabbed a hold of Edgar's right arm and yanked him forward. With both boys caught by surprised Ian let out a surprised squawk when Tory bumped into him as she ducked and shoved Edgar up against the open door, twisting his arm behind his back. It all happened in the time span of a few seconds and that was all it took for Tory to get Edgar pinned. Ian hadn't been joking the other night when he said that Tory as liable to pick a fight with a biker gang. Having grown up in foster homes Tory had learned fast how to defend herself and thanks to an ex-marine that she had lived with for a few months when she was thirteen, she did.

"Whoa!" Edgar wheezed as Tory gave his arm a swift jerk.

"Hey! Get your hands off my brother!" Alan lunged for Tory but jerked his hand back when Tory tried to bite him.

"Back off man!" Tory growled and Edgar swore under his breath as her grip tightened on his wrist.

"Tory!" Ian grabbed her and tried to pry her away from Edgar but she wouldn't let go.

"What do you know about vampires?" Tory demanded as she shoved Ian away from her.

"What?" Edgar gave her a sharp calculating look from the corner of his eye.

"You heard me. What's the deal with vampires in Santa Carla?" Tory asked once more. Allan frowned and looked from Tory to Ian, the Frog trademark scowl coming forth on both his and his brother's faces.

"Why do you want to know? Ow!" Edgar gritted his teeth and hissed when Tory twisted his arm just a little higher.

"Never mind that just tell me what you know." Tory muttered, making sure that the Frog got the message that she meant business.

"Let go of my arm." Edgar stopped struggling against Tory's grip and just stood there. He twisted his head around and glared at her as she hung on. He wasn't going to say a damn thing until she let him go.

"Then you'll tell me?" Tory asked as she looked at him and then his brother, trying to read their scowling faces.

"I haven't decided yet but I won't say anything if you keep touching me." Edgar gruffly chuckled, knowing that he had the upper hand now. Tory hissed something under her breath and butted him behind the knee with her own so that he stumbled a bit but Ian finally managed to intervene before Tory got the chance do something else.

"Tory will you let him go? Stop it!" He snapped as he grabbed her with both hands and yanked as hard as he could. Tory didn't fight him this time as he pulled her away and shoved the jacket at her. He positioned himself so that he was standing between the two, cutting off any chance for payback from the Frogs.

"You better keep your girlfriend on a leash Ian. If she starts crying vampire any louder you're both gonna end up with a set of fangs in your neck." Alan muttered darkly as he stepped forward from the gloom of the narrow hallway and stood at his brother's shoulder as Edgar massaged his wrist.

"She's not my girlfriend." Ian muttered as he flicked his unruly bangs out of his eyes.

"Oh spare me the dramatics." Tory snorted as she shrugged on her jacket and adjusted the collar. "So?"

"Hang on." Edgar said to them both before he stepped back and slammed the door in their faces. Ian gave Tory a warning look when she opened her mouth to object and a few painful moments later Edgar cracked the door opened and motioned for them to enter. Tory flashed Ian a "see, it worked" smirk before she stepped inside while Ian hesitated for a moment, giving the now practically empty Boardwalk a final glance.

"Before I say anything, would someone mind telling me why you want to know about vampires?" Edgar questioned as he shut the door once Ian had entered and began to do up the five bolts and two chain-link locks that he and his brother had installed months ago.

"Yeah, I thought that you said you didn't believe in them. Why ask us for help?" Allan questioned a second later, not giving Tory or Ian a chance to respond to the first question. With Edgar standing by the door and Allan blocking the way, Ian and Tory were sandwiched between the two. The Frogs weren't taking any chances.

"I'm not asking you for help, I just want to know about vampires. Is that such a crime?" Tory asked as she kept her face neutral. If they wanted to play that game then fine, she'd play too. She wouldn't give anything away until they begged her to. Something told her that despite their annoyed attitudes the Frogs would practically kill for any real information about vampires.

Edgar and Alan exchanged a look before they turned their attention to Ian.

"Ian?" Allan asked, arching an eyebrow. It was Tory's turn to scowl.

Ian looked at both brothers and then at Tory before he answered. "It's a long story but you're gonna want to hear it."

That was good enough. "Alright. Come with us. But if you breathe a word about what you see we will personally hunt you down and shut you up for good. Got it?" Edgar growled as Allan turned around and led the way down the narrow hallway. Everyone stopped and looked at Tory as Edgar waited for a response.

"Yeah, fine, whatever okay?" Tory muttered and rolled her eyes.

"This way." Allan jerked his head and they followed him in single file. There were two doors at the end of the hallway and Allan stopped in front of the one on the right. Digging into the pocket of his camo pants he produced a key and unlocked the door. He held it open as Edgar ushered Ian and Tory in and once they had all entered the pitch-black room, Allan shut the door and locked it.

"Just to let you know we don't have night vision." Tory piped up as she accidentally bumped into Ian as she tried to feel her way in the dark. Edgar felt his way along the wall and flipped the light switch and instantly the room was filled with blinding light from four different light sources. Ian and Tory instantly put their arms up to shield their eyes and Allan nodded in satisfaction when they didn't go up in smoke.

"They're cool." He said and Edgar killed the UV lights and switched on the normal ones so that the light was at a normal level.

"Whoa." Ian muttered as he stared slack-jawed at the room and Tory blinked twice to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

Every inch of wall space was either painted black or covered with cut-outs of every single monster known to man-kind. On the other side of the room was a roughly made work-bench with tools of every sort scattered onto it while a huge poster of Twisted Sister sneered down at the four from the wall. A large red stacked toolbox sat in the corner and had a huge silver antique crucifix sitting on it. The crucifix was surrounded by a number of hand-carved crosses that Edgar had made himself and there was a pile of newly made wooden stakes stacked up neatly on the ground beside the tool box. Edgar went over to his workbench while Tory and Ian checked out Allan's side of the room.

Books of all sorts pertaining to the paranormal were stacked in tottering piles that surrounded a battered old couch that had stuffing coming out of the arms. Covering the couch was a layer of comic books two inches deep, each one of them dealing with vampires, werewolves, zombies, ghouls, warlocks, aliens and just about anything else that could be of some use to the Frog's monster fighting enterprise. Tory's eyebrows shot up when she caught sight of the human skull that was grinning at her on a three-legged table that was covered with glass flasks, jars filled with liquids of every constancy and colour imaginable. Something that smelled like a cross between old gym-socks and wolfs bane bubbled away in a small pot that was on a battered looking hotplate.

"Talk about intense." Ian muttered to Tory out of the corner of his mouth and Tory just nodded.

"Do your parents know about this?" She asked Allan who just gave her an unreadable shrug and went over to the table to lower the temperature of the hotplate. Tory watched in fascination as he stirred the concoction and scooped out a bit of it with a spoon.

"You're not gonna eat that are you?" She asked as she wrinkled her nose at the smell.

"No." Allan shook his head and carefully poured the pea-soup looking stuff into a glass vial that he quickly corked and marked with a permanent marker.

"So, do you mind telling us why you tried to break into the shop in the middle of the night?" Edgar asked as he picked up a half-hewn stake and sat down on a stool as he started to sand it into a fine point.

Ian and Tory looked at each other and Tory subtly tilted her head to the side.

"Okay. Do you remember the girl from last night?" Ian began as Tory carefully picked her way through Allan's maze of books and cautiously moved aside some of the comics so that she could sit down on the edge of the couch. Allan's eyes followed her like a hawk but he didn't say anything as he went about arranging a few things on the table.

"The one who thinks that monsters have a soul?" Edgar snorted as he blew away a collection of wood particles as he switched the wad of sandpaper he had for another

"Uh, yeah. Well she was supposed to meet up with us tonight and she didn't." Ian ran his hand through his hair while Allan chuckled to himself.

"I wonder why?" He said under his breath as Tory gave him a piercing look that made him shut up.

"We figured that she bailed but then we saw her with the leader of the biker gang that everyone's so afraid of. You know the one I'm talking about right?" Ian asked the brothers and Edgar paused for a moment to think about it.

"Is it the gang that has one guy who looks like Twisted Sister?" He asked and motioned to the poster that was behind him.

"I think so. The leader, well I think he's the leader, wears all black and has a mullet." Ian said and Allan nodded.

"Yeah Mullet Guy. They're the ones that always go into Video Max to piss off the manager." Allan said and Edgar nodded in agreement. "So she was with him, so what?"

"So what? She was on that guy's bike and you know the rumors. Girls that are seen with those guys are never seen again." Tory growled and Allan just ignored her as he began to spoon out his concoction and pour it into various flasks and tubes to watch the reaction it had with other solutions.

"Anyways, we followed them to see where they were going because like what Tory said, we knew the rumors and we figured that Tink would need backup. And…" Ian trailed off as he looked over at Tory who crossed her arms and shook her head. He was going to be the one to tell the story, not her.

"And what?" Edgar asked as he blew on the sharpened tip of the stake and tested its point against his palm.

"Well, we followed them to this house up in the estates. Big place, lots of trees, hard to spot from the roadside. The guy's bike was in the driveway so we figured that they had gone inside. We managed to hide ourselves in the bushes and before we could get close to the house we heard screaming and some sort of commotion going on inside." Ian shuddered at the memory as a chill ran down his spine. Both Edgar and Allan had fixed their full attention on Ian and whatever they had been doing was now forgotten.

"Was it her?" Allan asked and Ian shrugged.

"We think so. We didn't see anything but it sounded like her." Ian swallowed hard and crossed his arms over his chest. Edgar remained silent for a while as he went over it all in his head and no one said anything until he spoke up.

"Then what happened?" He asked quietly, his eyes never leaving Ian's face.

"It got quiet and Tory said that we should call the police or something when this guy came out of the house. I don't think that he's from around here. I'd remember someone like that if he did. He…he walked out of the house and then he was gone." Ian looked from one Frog to the other, thinking that they thought he was nuts or something. But they didn't.

"Gone? How?" Allan asked as he went over to his book piles and quickly scanned them to find one in particular.

"Just gone. He was there one minute and then whoosh, gone the next. It was like he flew away or something…but we didn't seem him do that." Tory added quickly as she watched Allan select a black book with a cracked spine from one of the piles.

"You wouldn't have. Vampires move faster than we can and sometimes they move so fast we can't see them. If this guy flew away, you wouldn't have seen him. Heard him maybe but not seen him." Allan said as he flipped through the book and then put it down when it didn't have what he was looking for. "Move over for a second." He told Tory as he began to rifle through his comic book collection.

"Is that it?" Edgar asked Ian as Tory moved to the arm of the couch and watched Allan as he shifted through the comics. Ian shook his head.

"Another guy came out of the house. This guy looked like a Hell's Angels worst nightmare or something. He was…carrying Tink." Ian sat down on the floor then as Edgar put down his stake and walked over to Ian.

"How'd she look? Was she…did she have any marks or anything?" Edgar asked, quickly catching himself from saying something that Ian and Tory probably didn't want to hear. Tory answered for Ian with a shake of her head.

"No. It was too dark and they were too far away, we couldn't make out much. But we saw the guy's car all right. A '70's Chevrolet Chevelle LS6, black with two white stripes. I'd recognize that car anywhere." Tory muttered as viewed the car in her mind's eye. "He drove off with Tink and then Mullet Guy came out and took off. We got a good look at him though and he didn't look too happy."

Edgar paced the room, thinking things over while Allan gave up the search for the comic he was looking for and leaned against the table, careful not to lean on it too much least it tip over.

"You two have heard about the murders on the west side of town right?" Edgar asked Ian and Tory as an idea hit him.

"Who hasn't? Everyone's getting paranoid over them. They say it's a serial killer that's on the loose and that they're close to finding the guy." Tory said, repeating what she had heard on the radio that afternoon. Edgar and Allan snorted at the same time and shook their heads.

"It's not a serial killer. Serial killer's don't drain the blood from their victims and tear their throats out." Allan shook his head and glanced down at his wristwatch to check the time.

"So you're saying that vampires are responsible for all those murders?" Ian asked as Edgar sat back down on his stool, his mind working a mile a minute.

"Yeah and we think that you two might have found the ones responsible for them." He said as he turned around and opened one of the shelves of the tool box and rummaged through it.

"Well hurray for us. Now how do we find our friend?" Tory interrupted as Edgar began to pull out a number of steel files and other small hand-held tools.

"Forget your friend. She's probably buried in the land fill or somewhere else where no one can find her body." Edgar muttered as he yanked open another shelf and pulled out a small plastic bottle of holy oil.

Tory's eyes narrowed into slits as she grabbed the nearest book, which was a hard copy of Bram Stoker's _Dracula_, and threw it at Edgar, hitting him in the back of the head. "Don't you tell us to just forget her! What kind of _monster hunter_ are you? We want to know how we can get our friend back and we are going to know _now_." Tory stood up, nearly toppling Allan's book piles, and glared at him as Ian scrambled to his feet.

"Tory calm down. Look guys we came here to find out about vampires and how to kill them. We don't even know if the people we saw even were vampires but Tink's our friend and we can't just sit here while some…fanged freaks use her as lunch. If you don't want to help us, fine. We didn't come to start anything but you two are the only ones who know about this stuff." Ian said as Tory stepped around the books so that she was standing beside him.

"Don't worry, those guys are vampires." Allan said as he remained where he was.

"So then why don't you guys help us do something about it?" Tory asked sarcastically as she baited her words. "What? Are you _afraid_?"

"Why should we? She's your friend not ours. And we are not afraid." Edgar growled without bothering to look over his shoulder as he quickly worked with his tools on something that no one could make out from where they were standing.

"Well you're sure as hell acting like you are." Tory retorted and Ian didn't even bother trying to smooth that one over.

"Listen. We just want to make sure if Tink's still alive. If she is then we'll figure out how to help her and if he's not…then at least we know. And if there really are vampires involved in this then it's up to you guys to figure out what you want to do because you're the experts, not us. Isn't this what you do anyways? Hunt the monsters?" Ian asked as he motioned to all the monster pictures on the wall.

"Let's just say theoretically speaking, that we were to help you guys on this wild goose chase. Where would we start? If we go anywhere near that house we're liable to get discovered because the moneybags who live up there have personal security patrolling the area night and day and if we get caught, game over for everyone because whoever lives in that house will know what we're up to. And those two other guys you saw, they could be long gone by now. No one in Santa Carla has a car like that except Crooked Jack who runs the auto shop uptown and he has a Roadrunner…." Allan trailed off as he looked over at his brother. "We could ask him if he's heard anything about the car. If anyone would know, he would."

"And if he hasn't, then what? We search every town along the coast from here to Los Angeles for the car?" Edgar muttered over his shoulder as he attacked what he was working on with a pair of pliers.

"What about Mullet Guy? He's a part of all this. Last night Tink said that she was hanging with a bunch of homeless guys near here. She could have meant those bikers…why is beyond me, but it sure looked like it from our point of view." Tory said as she caught on to the Frogs train of thought. It might not mean much but it had to be some sort of a lead.

"You said that those guys always hang around Video Max right? Well what if we followed them from there?" Ian threw out and everyone looked at him for a moment. It was as if someone had turned on the light bulbs over their heads.

"It could work…" Allan began as he waited for Edgar to say something. He took his cue from his brother and if they were going to help Ian and Tory, it would have to be on Edgar's say so.

The three of them waited as Edgar continued to fiddle with his tools and he didn't say anything until he was done. Putting down his file, he rose from the stool and turned around. In each hand he held one of his small hand-made wooden crosses with each of the four ends filed down into sharp points. Copper wire was wrapped around the middle of each of them so that they'd be easy to hook onto a belt and both crosses were covered in a glaze of holy oil that once dried would prove to be a fool-proof emergency vampire ward.

"If your friend is still alive, and there's a damn good chance she's not, then we don't have a lot of time." Edgar said gruffly as he handed Tory and Ian the crosses. "Keep those on you at all times 'cause you never know when you might need them and they sure beat trying to carry around one of the big ones. Less conspicuous this way."

"So you're going to help us?" Tory asked as she looked down at the cross and then up at Edgar.

"I want you two to give us a full description of everyone you saw and tell us what exactly you know about vampires before we fill you in on what we know." Edgar sat back down on his stool and pulled out a pad of yellow paper and a pencil from underneath a pile of Rolling Stones magazines that were lying near his feet. "We gotta know exactly what we're up against."

"It's one." Allan said as he lifted up his wrist and motioned to his watch.

"Right, we got a lot to cover before sunrise." Edgar muttered to himself as he scribbled something on a blank page.

"What happens at sunrise?" Tory asked as she and Ian exchanged a look and shrugged. Well, it wasn't like their parents were going to be scouring the streets with a search party looking for them if they didn't get home by a certain time.

"We start looking and asking around." Edgar replied and with that they got down to business as the hands on Allan's watch ticked away the hours. By that time tomorrow they were all going to wish that they had never heard of the words vampires or Video Max before.


	8. Lost in a mad world

**Greetings all.**

**I've never managed to complete two chapters in the same week but I guess severe stress can bring out the words better than an entire month of waiting can. Re-working the plotline (instead of doing a Rocky Mountain range amount of term papers and finals...I'm a such a procrastinator woot!) the characters are running all over the place, throwing out a million and one ideas so if you don't hear from me for a while, don't panic. This story is going to take some serious pondering over and I won't be able to do that until mid-April so enjoy the chapter. **

**Oh! Before I forget, when you read this thing listen to Gary Jules "Mad World". It's the modern cover for the original 80's song by Tears for Fears but the song fits this chapter like a glove. Trust me, you'll see this thing in a different light. **

**Happy Reading.**

* * *

_Tick…tick…tick…tick…tick…_

_**Dong!**_

Lincoln opened his eyes and lifted his head as the brass echoing chime of the ornamental grandfather clock in the hallway brought him back into the present.

_**Dong!**_

"Ah Christ." Lincoln yawned as he stretched lazily and shook his head, scattering the fog of his cat nap from his mind. Blinking owlishly he hoisted himself into a sitting position and groped around for his leather jacket that was carefully folded over the side of the large four-seater leather couch that he was lying on.

"What time s'it?" He muttered to himself as he dug through the various pockets of his jacket before he took out a half-empty bottle of eye drops. Tilting his head back Lincoln quickly squeezed a few drops into his eyes and closed them tightly for a moment.

_**Dong!**_

The sun was almost rising and this was the time when the grateful undead took their repose in the shadows, to sleep off a night of bloodletting and mayhem and rest up for another night of all-out partying. But unlike other vampires, dawn for Lincoln didn't mean sleeping the sleep of the dead.

Dawn for Lincoln meant an entire day of lying about the house in a state of consciousness that only koala bears, high off eucalyptus leaves, ever managed to achieve. Dawn meant that it was time for Lincoln to start his day-job as Lucard's personal bodyguard. Whereas Max chose to put his faith in a half-crazed mutt to watch over him as he slept, Lucard used Lincoln's biological flaw to his advantage and was the only head vampire to have an actual vampire watch over him throughout the day.

_**Dong!**_

Lincoln was an insomniac. Sleep for him meant half-an-hour to an hour tops every 24 hours. It explained why his eyes were always bloodshot and why he always seemed to flirt between insanity and being sound-of-mind. Twenty years of being unable to fully recharge the old battery every day will do that to a person, living or undead.

"I fuckin' hate not bein' able to sleeeeeeeeeergh." Lincoln yawned as he swung his legs off the couch and stretched once more, reaching up towards the ceiling until he felt his shoulders pop.

_**Dong!**_

Lincoln waited for a minute to see if the old clock would ring out again but when it continued to tick away steadily he calculated that it was only five o'clock in the morning. The sun rose at 5:30 in the state of eternal sunshine and Lincoln had his orders to follow out. The boss wanted the kid awake right before dawn and now was the time, which meant that Lucard was going to appear at any moment.

Lincoln sighed, scratched his chin and promptly slapped himself across the face as hard as he could in order to get himself fully functional. Like always, it worked.

"Right." Lincoln shoved himself off the couch and padded silently out of the well-furnished living room and meandered into the kitchen for a quick fix. Not bothering to bite back a yawn, Lincoln rubbed his hand over his face as he opened the fridge that was stocked with liters of blood and beer. Lincoln grabbed a large glass bottle that was half-filled with blood and kicked the fridge closed. He unscrewed the cap and tossed it onto the polished marble countertop before he opened the liquor cabinet and withdrew a near-empty bottle of rum. Despite his sluggish movements, Lincoln didn't spill a drop of liquor as he emptied the contents of the rum bottle into the half-liter of blood and after tossing the empty bottle into the garbage that was under the sink, he swirled the spiked concoction and took a lengthy swing of it.

"Now that's some good joe." He murmured to himself and burped loudly. Smacking his lips, Lincoln wandered bleary-eyed out of the kitchen with the bottle and headed for the spiraled staircase that led up to the second floor. As he started up the stairs the front door opened and Lucard stepped into the high-end estate home without so much as a rattle of keys.

"Impeccable timin' as always boss." Lincoln grinned and took another swing from the bottle. "I's just about to wake the kid."

"I know." Lucard responded as he closed the door behind him and locked it. Lincoln draped himself over the wooden banister as he watched Lucard remove his jacket and hung it up in the mirrored closet that failed to reflect the master vampire in its spotless surface.

"Should I ask what you have been up to all night?" Lucard asked as he unbuttoned the first two buttons of his stiff-collared shirt and place his keys onto the elegant Chippendale writing desk that served as the hallway table.

"Ab-_so_-lute-ly nothin'. Well, babysittin' but that was borin' as hell." Lincoln shrugged and scraped his pinky nail over his front teeth in order to remove some unwanted plaque build-up.

"It was good that you followed through with what I told you. The whole of California now falls under Von Ruben's jurisdiction and we are now guests on his land. So whatever it is that you have been doing up until now, it stops." Lucard said as he mounted the stairs with Lincoln trailing after him, guzzling noisily without a care. "So no more triple homicides in the red light district."

Lincoln lowered the bottle and grinned slyly as Lucard gave him a knowing look. "C'mon. You gotta admit it was a good idea."

"I will admit nothing. Whatever rivalry you have with your brother is between the two of you and I will have no part it in. But whatever you do now you will be responsible for it and I will not protect you if you get caught. And you will, if you care to remember a certain train yard incident." Lucard arched an eyebrow and Lincoln's crafty sneer quickly changed into a painful grimace.

"Man I'd love ta take a piece outta that bastard." Lincoln growled darkly as he stared moodily off into space.

"As would I but now is not the time nor the place. Von Ruben will get what is coming to him sooner or later Lincoln, even if you are not the one to give it." Lucard clapped Lincoln on the shoulder when Lincoln muttered some foul oath of vengeance under his breath.

"Yeah well I'd like to see how he deals with the police crawlin' around the place and pointin' fingers. Two of his boys still have their criminal records on file with the locals so things should get interestin' real soon. Especially when the motel makes headline news." Lincoln muttered as he took another long swallow from the bottle and offered it to Lucard, who politely declined with a wave of his hand.

"What motel?" Lucard asked with a slight frown on his face as he regarded Lincoln out of the corner of his eye

Lincoln smirked and ran the back of his hand over his mouth. "You'll see."

"I have no doubt I will." Lucard snorted but not in a disapproving way. "Tomorrow night I must see to a few things so I am leaving you in charge of getting Sarah comfortable and accustomed to our regime. Teach her how to be a vampire but make sure she does not pick up any of your bad habits."

"What bad habits?" Lincoln asked as he followed Lucard as they walked down a hallway that was lined with doors and richly framed paintings. "I don't got bad habits."

"Lincoln you are a bad habit." Lucard chuckled as he stopped outside a closed door.

"Well shoo, I can't help bein' what I am anymore'n you can." He snorted as he leaned up against the wall and ran his free hand through his tousled hair. A second later he yawned and his jaw cracked under the pressure. "Dang."

"Now is not the time to debate a matter of opinions." Lucard sniffed as he massaged the bridge of his nose. The sun was almost above the horizon and it was only a matter of time before he succumbed to the inevitable that only Lincoln seemed to be somewhat immune to. "Make sure to double-check the locks and whatever you do, do not leave any incense burning for a long period of time. You know I cannot tolerate the smell."

"Will do." Lincoln grinned and raised his bottle in a mock salute. "That weren't no incense I was burnin'. Reefer's what it was."

"Why you could not pursue opium instead of that disgusting weed is beyond me." Lucard shook his head and twisted the door handle, slowly swinging the door open.

"Right boss. I'll see ya later. 'Night…mornin'…whatever." Lincoln waved lazily as he trudged down the hallway humming a Doors tune off-key. When he made it to his own room, he missed the doorknob on the first try before he managed to slip in and close the door without too much difficulty.

Lucard shook his head slightly before he stepped into the darkened bedroom. Despite the pitch-black interior, his hazel eyes gleamed brightly with their own inner light and he could easily make out the figure lying deathly still on the queen sized bed. Closing the door behind him, Lucard moved towards the covered window at the other end of the room, checking to make sure that the heavy blackout blinds were firmly in place and that the heavy drapes engulfed the window, making it impossible for the slightest ray of sunlight to penetrate the darkness come sunrise. Lincoln had done his job well and the small bedroom had become an impenetrable safe chamber.

Lucard ran his hand over his face as the instinctive lull of unconsciousness began to intensify as the sun crept towards the sky. He didn't have much time.

Moving quickly, Lucard went to the bed and clicked on the small side-lamp on the night table, the tiny fixture barely casting enough light to illuminate the table itself but it provided enough light for Lucard to get a clear look at Sarah. Lying on a nest of pillows she looked years younger and the delicate innocence that both he and Max had been drawn to was plain to see. The only thing that marred the image of her youthful fragileness were the dark bruise-like rings under her eyes and her unnaturally pale complexion that had been intensified more so after the events of that night.

Marking was always a strenuous ritual on both the master and fledgling and it took time before both vampires were fully recovered. The after affects were felt for a few days as the body adjusted to the infusion and once that was over, the bond between the two vampires would be nigh impossible to break. That was why the trading of fledgling vampires or childes as they are also called was considered to be the most powerful move a vampire could make in rising in the ranks or accumulating new territory. To be the master of another vampire's creation was like marrying a king's prodigy. Alliances were created between the two head vampires and territories re-adjusted in order to fit whatever deal was made. Also, depending on how old the fledging was or how exposed it was to its Sire, the new Master could learn a great deal about the stronger vampire and there have been times when older, stronger vampires have been overthrown by the lesser ones that they had traded with because of the secrets locked away in the fledgling's blood. For everyone knows that blood never lies.

Lucard sighed softly as he watched Sarah for a moment. He reached over and gently brushed away a few strands of her hair from her face, tucking them behind her ear, and as he did so Sarah reacted to his touch. Already the bond between them was growing in strength and he waited patiently as Sarah slowly awoke.

Sarah groaned when she opened her eyes and quickly shut them. The dim light from the lamp stung her eyes and a powerful wave of nausea swept over her, making her gag into the pillow beside her.

"It's all right." Lucard murmured softly as he took a white linen handkerchief out of his pocket and gently wiped away the trickle of blood that Sarah coughed up.

Sarah winced at his touch but didn't shy from his hand. Her entire body felt out of sorts and impossibly heavy, as if her limbs had somehow turned to lead. Everything hurt though, every inch of her including the tips of her hair. The heavy down filled comforter under her, the feather-filled pillows around her, even her clothes seemed to cause her some sort of discomfort. Sarah didn't bother trying to move because some internal voice told her that the soreness she felt would only be intensified.

"Light…" She wheezed weakly, her teeth aching as she tried to articulate that one word. The lamp suddenly flicked off on its own accord as Lucard folded the handkerchief and placed it on the nighttable.

"It's off." He replied and watched as Sarah struggled to open her eyes once more. He noted with satisfaction that her brown eyes practically glowed in the encompassing gloom, which was one of the signs of recovery. The brighter the eyes the stronger the will to live. Two of the other of Max's girls had not made it this far before they gave up and wasted away. They had died in a matter of hours.

A single tear slowly trickled from the corner of her eye as Sarah looked up at Lucard, prone and helpless and wanting to know why she was that way. She hissed as the salty tear suddenly started to sting and Lucard wiped it away with as much care as if he were handling a newborn infant. The first waking hours were crucial in securing a fledgling's faith and loyalty to its new Master, much like the imprinting that happens between a newborn animal and its mother. Once the fledgling developed a dependency on the stronger vampire, the two would be bonded for life and there was no undoing it with the exception of one thing, death.

"It hurts…god it hurts…" Sarah whimpered as her eyes began to fill with tears and as they spilled onto her tender skin, Lucard wiped them away.

"I know. Shhhh, I know." He said softly as he caught her tears with his fingertips, his faint touch numbing the area and relieving some of her discomfort but it wasn't enough. Every whimper and cry she made was reflected back to him until it all became overwhelming.

Lucard rose from the bed and paced the room as his head swam from the conflicting emotions that he channeled from Sarah. He sighed heavily as he leaned his back against the far wall and his broad shoulders sagged forward under the weight of everything he had to bare. Age, responsibility, power, the past, loneliness…all this pressed down on the master vampire as he watched Sarah tremble in the darkness.

How many times had he gone through this and how many times had he been faced with failure? All those girls, his girls, never made it. Each of their deaths had sliced him to the core and each time it became a little more difficult to handle.

There was only so much that he could take before it all overwhelmed him and under no circumstance must he allow that to happen. If he wallowed in a melancholy stupor he would present himself as an easy target to his rivals and enemies. Once the word went out that old Lucard was no longer fit to govern it would only be a matter of days before he was taken out by another vampire wishing to take his place. That was the way things were, that was how vampires had managed to survive for so long in the ever-changing fast-paced world. It was the survival of the fittest and Lucard was playing a deadly game with time, a game that has proven time and time again that time will always win in the end.

"Y'alright boss?" Lincoln asked with concern as he stuck his head into the room.

His bond with the old vampire was extremely strong to the point that he could always somehow tell when something was amiss with his master vampire, even if he was miles away. That's what made him the ideal bodyguard and what made other vampires very uneasy. If something were ever to happen to Lucard Lincoln would sense it ahead of time and would somehow be there to defend him. More than once Lincoln's sixth sense had allowed him to arrive in the nick of time in order to bail Lucard out of some pretty nasty situations and if it hadn't been for his quick actions, Lucard wouldn't be here right now.

"Close the door." Lucard said in a tired voice as he nodded his head. Lincoln quickly complied and quietly closed the door behind him as he stepped into the room. He eyed Sarah for a moment before he turned his attention to Lucard.

"So what's the verdict?" He asked, keeping his voice low. He knew exactly what the kid was going through and knew just how irritating anything above a whisper was to hyper-sensitive ears.

Lucard breathed in deeply out of habit as he watched Sarah. "I think she will make it."

Lincoln's grin could barely be seen in the darkness but Lucard seemed to sense it.

"Sure she ain't much t'look at but that little spitfire'll fight it through, you'll see." He chuckled ever so softly as Lucard smiled slightly despite himself.

"_Are you always so sure of everything_?" Lucard opened the mental connection he had with Lincoln in order to avoid causing Sarah any more discomfort through speaking. Even though they were conversing at a dead whisper Sarah could hear them as if they were screaming in her ear.

"_Sure am. If I weren't, I'd be dead._"

Lincoln's voice laughed in Lucard's head as he wandered over to the side of the bed and tilted his head to the side, getting a good look at the newest addition to the family.

"_You think she'll take after me?_"

Lucard snorted out-loud and Sarah whimpered fretfully at the sound.

"_Lord I hope not_."

"_Why's that_?"

"_Lincoln one of you is more than enough."_

"_Then I guess that makes me special huh?"_

"_Think more along the lines of being an oddity."_

The room was completely silent aside from the occasional whimper from Sarah and yet the two vampires continued their mental conversation as easily as if they were speaking out-loud.

"_Whatever you say boss. You want me to get you anythin'? You look like you're ready for the grave and that's puttin' it nicely."_

"_Thank you for your concern but no. I will be staying in here today. It is too soon to leave and the sun will rise in a few minutes. Have you taken any of the sleeping pills that I picked up for you? Do they work?"_

"_Ya mean those horse tranquilizers? Yeah, a few days ago but they didn't do anythin' aside from give me a migraine that lasted for two days. The only thing that'll work is knockin' me out cold and usually that only lasts for a few hours."_

"_When was the last time you had more than two hours of sleep?"_

Lucard carefully sat down on the far edge of the bed before he began to untie his shoes and take them off. A proper gentleman never sleeps in footwear unlike Lincoln who was prone to sleeping with everything on or nothing at all.

"_Good question. Probably a month now."_

"_Hmmm. You know what happens when you go too long without getting more than a few hours to balance yourself out. I do not want a repeat of what happened in Berlin."_

"_Well I can't do nothin' about that now can I? Unless someone hits me over the head with a bat and half the time that don't work. I friggin hate this. Why do I get to be the one with the sleep disorder? Aren't us vamps supposed to go cold durin' the day?"_

"_You know I could do it if you would let me."_

"_Temptin' but I got you and the kid to worry about now. What if somethin' happens while I'm out?"_

"_Lincoln if I know Von Ruben he will not dare try anything until I have made the agreement public and notified the other Heads. Until then he will keep to himself and tolerate my presence on his land. I think Sarah and I will be perfectly fine for a few hours."_

"_I dunno boss man. I don't trust that guy as far as I can throw him and I could toss him into another state if given the chance."_

Lincoln growled out-loud despite himself and when Sarah cried out he actually kicked himself.

"_Shit! Sorry."_

"_You are never going to let that train yard incident go are you?"_

"_What d'you think? I'll get that bastard one day, you wait and see. I'll get him good, real good." _

"_Maybe one day but not today."_

"_Yeah I guess. Anyways, you do what you gotta do and I'll try to amuse myself with Regis. See you at sundown."_

Lincoln headed for the door while Lucard listened to him leave. When he knew that Lincoln had his back turned to him he rose and crossed the room without a sound. The blow was quick and Lucard nailed him squarely in the back of the head with enough force that could have crushed a cinder block. Instead of getting his head knocked clean off his shoulders, Lincoln went down without knowing what hit him.

"You'll thank me in the evening." Lucard muttered quietly under his breath as he caught Lincoln before the vampire fell to the floor. Picking him up as if he weighed nothing Lucard carried the knocked-out vampire over to the full-length chaise lounge that was nestled in the far corner of the room and laid him out on it. Lincoln's feet hung over the side of the lounge chair but it would do for the time being.

Being a master vampire meant that Lucard had complete responsibility over his charges and it fell solely upon him to look after the needs and wants of his fledglings. If Lincoln needed to be forcefully knocked out to prevent him from going off the deep end due to excessive exhaustion then Lucard had to make sure that Lincoln received his precious few hours of sleep every month or two. Lincoln would brood about it for a day or so but like most things concerning the insomniac vampire, he would soon get over it.

As for Sarah, Lucard had to ease her discomfort. She would be fine come evening but for now he had to do what he could for her. Feeling very much like the doting parent, Lucard went back to the bed and sat down beside her. Feeling him near Sarah struggled to open her eyes but it was hard to do as the sun's influence started to penetrate the comforting darkness.

"Don't leave." She whispered as she tried to focus her eyes on him but all she saw was a blurry outline of the baron.

Lucard gathered her hands in his and noticed how small hers were compared to his. "I won't." He said as he reached over and gently placed the tips of his fingers on her forehead. Concentrating for a moment he willed his new fledgling to sleep and without so much as a cry Sarah drifted off into peaceful oblivion, where discomfort and fear could not touch her.

Lucard yawned as a heavy wave of sleepiness swept over him. Carefully arranging the pillows so that she was safely cocooned, Lucard stretched out on the bed and cradled Sarah to him as if she were his own child. In a sense, she was.

_Bai, bai, bai, bai,_

_Báyu, Detusku mayú!_

_Bai, bai, bai, bai,_

_Báyu, Detusku mayú!_

_Shta na górki, na goryé,_

_O visyénnei, o poryé,_

_Ptíchki Bozhiye payút,_

_F tyómnam lyési gnyózda vyut._

Lucard crooned the old Russian lullaby as the sun broke over the horizon. As his deep voice drifted off he closed his eyes and let instinct take over. He was sound asleep as the first songbirds woke to greet the new day but their cheery songs fell upon deaf ears.


	9. Double crossing and Revelations Oh My!

**Hey Everyone!**

**Gonna make this short and sweet. I'm back in the saddle after taking a nice little break and the ideas are finally starting to come together and I hope to have more chapters out sooner because I really am tired of this one chapter a month deal. And don't worry, we'll be seeing plenty of the boys in the next...well all the up-coming chapters. I promise that this is the final "information foundation" chapter and I hope I didn't make it too boring. (chuckles)**

**Righty then. In my non-existant spare time I stared working on a musical version of **_Little Fighter_**. That's right people, a musical. More like a mockiscal than anything else but the tunes are good so I'm loving it. I figured it was time a Lost Boys musical was made don't you? All that information along with the song list is posted on my site so if your interested in a good laugh and some cool tunes, go take a look-see. **

**The next chapter will be up very shortly because I have most of it written. It was supposed to be in this chapter but it got way too long and confusing and all that stuff so I snipped it. Also I had an idea for a short, and I mean it this time, story about Fay and the Boys and am currently debating whether or not to write it. It's not every day the Boys get dragged to a full-blown Italian wedding and the effect is hilarious. If you guys are interested in reading such a story, let me know. Who knows, maybe I will chain myself down and write it in one go maybe not. I'll leave that decision in your hands.**

**Oh! Almost forgot. This summer I am going to fully edit **_People are Strange_**. I re-read that sucker and wanted to gouge my eyes out. Man what was I thinking when I did a once-over edit? I am really sorry you folks had to live through that traumatic experience and I promise to make it up to you by editing the whatnot out of that story. No more bad grammar on my part I promise!**

**Happy Reading!**

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It didn't take the Frog brothers as long as they had anticipated to reach the auto body shop that was owned and run by Santa Carla's very own "Crooked" Jack Roster. Despite the location of the shop, there was nothing uptown about the Rosters little family run business. Having been around since the 50's when it was started up by Jack Roster Senior, the mediocre car shop had survive nearly forty years by specializing in high-end performance vehicles. In the high class suburbs of Santa Carla there were always high end cars that needed a fine tuning and Jack Roster was the only one for miles that had the know how on how to spruce up a V8 engine without breaking any laws, well most of the time.

The Frog's bikes skidded to a halt as they eyed the opened garage with identical guarded expressions. Technically they had no right to be anywhere near the place seeing that they looked like down-town core street waifs on 5 speed trick bikes. The people of the "Uptown" despised anything that remotely resembled the under privileged and with the way the Frogs looked that morning after having stayed up all night briefing Tory and Ian about their paranormal theories, they knew that they were less than welcome.

"We going in?" Alan asked as he stared down a middle-aged man that sat behind the wheel of a black Mustang that must have been in the six figure range. The man gave him a disgusted once over and Alan sneered in retaliation before the man shook his head and sped off down the street, only to stop at a red light two seconds later.

"Might as well." Edgar replied as he carefully tied a green bandana around his head while watching the people in the garage like a hawk.

"You sure this is gonna work?" Allan nodded towards the ragged green backpack that was strapped across Edgar's back.

"It better." Growled Edgar as he glanced down at his wristwatch.

It was already 2:48 pm. They had until 5 o'clock before they were supposed to meet up with Ian and Tory down at the Boardwalk to discuss their findings and figure out how to initialize phase 2 of their plan, stalking the potential vampire.

The two exchanged uncertain looks before they hopped their bikes over the curb and coasted towards the garage. It was Sunday and the activity in and around the garage was minimal, which was the way the Frogs wanted it. Less people around meant fewer witnesses.

"What do you two think you're doing?" A voice asked the brothers as a twenty-something mechanic wearing greased coveralls appeared from the depths of the garage. The Frogs hopped off their bikes and braced them against the side of the building, out of sight from the road.

"Where's Jack Roster?" Allan asked as he and his brother stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the man. The guy just arched an eyebrow and scratched his chin which was already covered with a five o'clock shadow.

"Not in today. It's Sunday." The mechanic answered as he crossed his arms over his chest, his biceps bulging under his rolled up denim sleeves. The Frogs got the message loud and clear but they didn't back down.

"He told us to come here today. We have a delivery for him." Edgar lowered his voice and glanced over at his backpack, sending the man his own message. The man, whose dirtied name patch spelled out Pete on his chest, looked the two over for a minute and when they didn't squirm under his stare like most of the kids who usually came sniffing around the place did, he nodded his head and motioned for the two to follow him.

Allan raised his eyebrows at his brother as they trailed after the mechanic. So Edgar was right about Jack Roster's underground dealings. From the looks of it Crooked Jack had his hand in more than just the illegal street racing circles of Santa Carla.

"Touch anything and you pay for it." Pete the mechanic growled over his shoulder as he weaved his way around a classic cheery red 50's Ford Convertible that was being tinkered on by another mechanic who was just as big as Pete was. Standing in a garage filled with expensive cars and guys who looked like they could easily bench press more than what the Frogs weighed combined, Edgar and Allan suddenly felt puny and insignificant, even if they didn't show it.

"Hey Jack!" Pete barked as he opened the office door that was located at the back of the garage. "Mike, where'd Jack go?" Pete called out to the mechanic that was tuning the convertible's engine when he realized that the boss wasn't in his office.

"Out back, working on the Roadrunner." Mike replied without bothering to look up from what he was doing.

"This way." Pete said and the Frogs obediently followed without saying so much as a peep. The mechanic led them out of a side door and into the fenced off body yard of the garage that housed the remains of a number of high-end socialite cars as well as a good number of American muscle cars of every shape and size.

Edgar eyed the ten foot fence and the coils of barb wire that ran across the top while Allan quickly scanned for an exit. Aside from the door they had just come from the only way in and out of the yard was a padlocked service gate that led to the street. Snoozing alongside the service gate were two very big and very dangerous looking Rottweilers with leather spiked collars around their beefy necks. Allan couldn't tell if they were chained to anything and he really did not want to find out.

"Hey Jack. There's some kids who want to see you." Pete said as he approached a car that was located at the very back of the yard.

"Wadda they want?" A gruff voice replied from somewhere under the car.

"They say they have a delivery for you." Pete replied as Edgar and Allan stopped a few feet away from Pete and the car. The two brothers stared at the hulking racer that was reputed to never have lost a race. Everyone who knew anything about the streets of Santa Carla knew about the Roadrunner. It was1968 Plymouth Roadrunner painted a metallic lime green with black accenting along the roof and on the driver's side there was a small mean-looking cartoon of the Loony Tunes Roadrunner going at top speed.

"Leave them here." The gruff voice growled and Pete simply turned and walked back into the garage without a second thought.

Jack Roster slid out from under his car and the Frogs did a double take. They had expected someone covered in tattoos, big, mean and thuggish but when they saw the man who was reputed to be the Big Cheese of racing from San Francisco to Los Angeles, they couldn't help but gawk. The guy was a Brat Pack clone!

"_He looks like Charlie Sheen._" That was the exact thought that ran simultaneously through Edgar and Allan's minds.

"What do you want?" Jack asked them as he wiped his hands with an oily rag, the afternoon sunlight shining off his perfectly kept hair. He must have been in his early to mid twenties and had the looks of a movie star. Here was a guy who should be spending his days on a beach being fawned over by girls, not getting his hands dirty with axel grease and engine oil.

"You're Crooked Jack?" Edgar asked, still unsure of himself.

"Yeah. So do you two mind telling me what you're doing here and I know it's not to deliver something." Jack said as he leaned over and picked up a few tools that where lying near the front tire of his car.

Allan nudged Edgar with his shoulder but Edgar just waved him off as he stepped forward.

"We don't want to take up any more of your time but we're wondering if you could help us with some information." Edgar started off, making himself sound older and more sure of himself than he really felt.

"Information? Why would I tell you boys anything?" Jack laughed as he deposited his tools into a small tool box that sat on the hood of the Roadrunner, turning his back to the two Frogs. Edgar pressed on however and Allan hovered at his shoulder while he kept an eye on the dogs. Allan hated dogs, especially the big ones.

"Word has it that you're the guy to come to about anything to do with cars and we were wondering if you have anything on a certain car that has recently shown up in town." Edgar said as he walked around the front of the car so that he was facing Jack.

"Really. I might know something I might not." Jack said evenly as he looked Edgar in the eye. Edgar took a step back so that he wasn't touching the car and took off his backpack. He didn't break eye contact as he unzipped it and pulled out a comic book sheathed in a protective plastic cover.

"Would this help your memory at all?" Edgar asked as he held up the comic book, the back of the thin book facing Jack.

"A comic book? Kid don't waste my time." Jack snorted and Edgar tossed the book down onto the hood of the car so that Jack could see its cover. Allan's eyes shifted so that he was watching the guy's face but Jack had a poker face that couldn't be read.

"Why would I be interested in some stupid comic book?" Jack asked after a moment, looking from one Frog to the other with a bored expression on his face. Edgar and Allan looked at each other before they both zeroed in on Jack's right hand. Fitted perfectly on the third finger of his hand was a white gold Green Lantern ring, complete with a polished green jade stone.

"It's a first edition issue of the first issue of the Green Lantern, The Planet of Doomed Men. Mint condition. Impossible to find and worth about as much as this car." Edgar said, allowing himself a small smirk as he watched Jack's eyes widen.

"No shit." Jack said as he reached for the comic but Allan snatched it up before he could touch it.

"How's that memory of yours?" Allan asked as he held the comic out of arm's reach.

"Pretty good. What do you want to know?" Jack asked as he eyed the comic book. If he had a weakness aside from cars and girls, it was comic books. Green Lantern comic books to be exact. Edgar had done his research well.

"What's the deal with a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle LS6 that's been seen around town? It's black with two white stripes." Edgar asked as he watched Jack's face like a hawk. If they guy lied to them, chances were Edgar would be able to pick up on it.

"A Chevelle? No one own's a 70's Chevelle in Santa Carla. If there was one, I'd be the guy driving it." Jack replied and Allan moved away, taking the comic book with him.

"We figured that already. What do you know about it?" Edgar asked again, his voice deadpan as he scowled slightly.

"I haven't seen it myself but I've heard people talking about the car you described. Some tough looking redneck drives it. Last I heard it came to town about a few days go and left last night." Jack said as he glanced down at his ring, thinking.

"Last night? Do you know where it went?" Edgar pushed as Allan made a mental note of what Jack was saying. Everything would come in handy when they tried to figure out who and what they were going up against.

"No idea. A friend of mine saw it on Highway 87, going fast enough to break about every law in California. Looks like it was headed towards Los Angeles but it's impossible to tell. There was something about the driver too." Jack looked up as he remembered something.

Edgar and Allan held themselves in check as they waited for what Jack was about to say. This could be what they were looking for.

"The guy's a knife man." Jack said as he leaned against the side of the Roadrunner.

"A what?" Allan asked.

"A knife fighter. Carries around a really big knife. Probably just for show but I did hear that a biker tried to pick a fight with him down at _Toolies_ two nights ago." He told them as he quickly looked around to make sure that they were alone.

"Yeah so?" Edgar snorted. He couldn't care less about some biker…unless... "Who was the biker?"

"Some skin head that should have stayed in prison." Jack shrugged.

"So what happened?" Allan asked. Well it wasn't one of the bikers they were looking for but there could still be a clue in the story that they could use later on.

"Nothing. But the next morning some old bag lady found the guy's body in a dumpster a few blocks from the bar. The guy was carved up like a turkey. The cops spent hours fishing pieces out of the garbage. I heard that he looked like some sort of puzzle that they had to piece together. Wasn't pretty." Jack shook his head and Edgar nodded.

"And the driver?" He asked.

"Police tried to bring him in for questioning but he vanished. And then my friend saw the car hightailing it out of town so my guess is that he was making a break for it before the law caught up with him, if he was the one who did it. No one knows for sure." Jack shrugged again and looked at the brothers. "That's all I know."

Allan kept a firm grip on the comic book but when Edgar motioned for him to hand it over, he did so reluctantly. "You better take damn good care of it." He muttered in warning as Edgar zipped up his pack and slung it over his shoulders.

"Don't worry, I will." Jack said as he took the comic and eyed every inch of it. They were right, it was in mint condition. "It's been a pleasure boys now beat it."

The brothers snorted and trudged off, exiting through the side door that they had entered from. Jack waited until they had gone before he broke the seal and slipped out the comic book. It was a good thing he did because just as he opened the comic book the Frog brothers were on their bikes and pedaling away as fast as they could, high fiving each other for a job well done.

"What the?" Jack muttered as he glanced down at the first page. Instead of the Green Lantern there was a bunch of captions with snarling vampires staring up at him. He had been duped!

"Those little mother…"

"How do you think the others are doing?" Allan asked as they zipped down a short-cut as they headed for the warehouse district to search for any potential vampire hide-outs in the area.

"They better have come up with something or all this is for shit." Edgar replied as he pedaled harder. He could just see the look on Jack Roster's face when he realized that the comic was a fake. Well Jack wasn't the only one who could be crooked and for Edgar it was all in the line of duty.

While the Frogs spent the remaining two hours poking around run-down and abandoned warehouses, Ian and Tory were having one heck of a time trying to make some sort of headway downtown. Since 10 am, they had been running all over town, calling in favors, asking a few people who knew people who should know people who knew about the mysterious band of bikers that everyone seemed to know and keep their distance from, everyone except another group of street-teens who prowled the Boardwalk at night.

It was Tory who brought up the idea of talking to the Surf Nazis and right away Ian had nixed the idea. The bikers they were trying to find were bad enough, there was no need to go making the situation worse by getting the Nazi's involved. By all accounts those guys were just as bad as the bikers. But like always, Tory didn't see it that way. To Tory it was an opportunity that could possibly yield some vital information while to Ian it was a disaster waiting to happen.

Once again, Ian's intuition proved to be right and the Nazis were less than helpful but they did walk, more like run away, with something that just raised more questions instead of giving them answers.

"What the hell does Peter Pan have anything to do with these guys?" Tory fumed as she sucked hard on her straw, draining most of her fountain drink in one huge swallow.

Ian shook his head as he stared down at his dwindling plate of fries that he had barely touched. The Frogs were right about this being one giant goose chase. What a waste of a day.

"I don't know Tory. Maybe Greg didn't know what he was talking about." Ian replied as he watched Tory snort and grab a handful of fries, half of which she ate while throwing the rest at a bunch of seven year old kids at the wooden picnic table beside theirs that were being obnoxious.

"I highly doubt that. Greg said something about the bikers being no better than the lost boys without a clue. That has to mean something. It just does. The only lost boys that I know of are from _Peter Pan_. Yeah I watched Disney movies when I was a kid, sue me." Tory muttered as she glared at the kids who were sticking their tongues out at her and rolling their eyes.

"Tory I honestly don't think that's what he meant." Ian said as he pushed the plate of fries out of her reach before she could toss the entire thing at the kids.

"Well what did he mean then?" Tory challenged, right after she bared her teeth stuck her tongue out at the kids.

"How should I know? Like I can read the guy's mind. He was probably too stoned to understand what he was saying. And plus, from what we know and found out today, these guys we're looking for, they're bad news. Something tells me they wouldn't want to have any connection with a story about some guy in green tights and a bunch of queer kids who live in a tree." Ian muttered as he rested his head on his arms, ignoring the jeers from the brats and Tory's foul rebuttal that shut them up for the time being.

Ian closed his eyes for a moment and frowned as he replayed the conversation they had had with Greg, the leader of the Surf Nazis. Most of the guy's answers were "fuck off", "go fuck yourselves", "don't stick your nose where it don't belong" and a number of other highly intelligent answers. The only response that they had gotten that wasn't some sort of threat was the Peter Pan reference and even that was vague.

"Well maybe they are queer guys who live in a tree." Tory brooded as she leaned across the picnic table and snatched up the plate of fries. "It would explain a lot and make finding these assholes a lot easier. Vampires in a tree, now that's original. Could you imagine? A bunch of blood-sucking fags hanging from tree branches during the day?" She was talking more to herself than to Ian as she chomped on a few fries.

"No I can't cause they'd never do it." Ian answered from behind his folded arms.

"What?" Tory eyed a fry carefully before she threw it at a waiting seagull that was lurking nearby.

"They'd never live in a tree because they'd get roasted. Hello, sunlight remember? Didn't you listen to anything the Frogs said last night? If these guys are vampires they are going to need something dark, secluded and hard to get to." Ian lifted his head and brushed his unruly hair out of his eyes as Tory looked at him for a moment, considering something.

"Okay fine, no tree." She murmured as she drummed her fingers on the tabletop. "Hmmm. If I were a lost boy fag vampire, where would I be hiding?"

Ian plunked his head back onto his arms as Tory repeated the question a few more times, gazing out at the rolling surf in the distance as the tide started to come in.

"In the movie, they lived in a tree. A tree. Tree, tree, tree. In Santa Carla, they'd live in a…house? No, rent issues would be a problem. An old abandoned house? Seriously put a kink into anyone's date life, even if they play for the other team. What about…a church? No wait crosses. A synagogue! No one would ever think to look there…unless they were gay Jewish vampires. That would be a problem. Hey, what if they were pretending to be Jehovah Witnesses? Perfect cover, no one would ever question them and they'd be able to go door to door and kill people. But I can't see these guys wearing suits. What do you think Ian?" Tory grinned as she nudged his head. "Are these guys secretly JW's in disguise and using their vamp powers to create an undead army of converts? Do you think Santa Carla will be under attack by Bible wielding blood-suckers in the near future? Huh? Do you?"

"Tory that's not funny." Ian growled as he sat up and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well _so_rry for trying to lighten the mood. It's not like you're coming up with anything better." Tory grabbed her drink and moodily toyed with it.

"Yeah well I'm trying to think of something okay? These guys may be a bunch of dead guys and where would you find a bunch of dead guys? In the ground. So I'm thinking cemeteries, but the Frogs already checked those months ago and it's too cliché and too obvious for anyone with half a brain to figure out. So our other option would be in a hole in ground, under a rock or…I don't know! Shit, for all I now they're probably hot boxing a cave right now before they go boogie-boarding when the sun goes down." Ian muttered in frustration as he lifted his leg and retied his shoelace so that he wouldn't have to look at Tory. The lack of success so far was putting a strain on his nerves and moral and the closer they got to sun down the less hopeful he was of ever seeing Tink again or solving the mystery of the punk bikers.

"That's it." Tory choked on her straw as coke dribbled out of her nose.

"Ew Tory." Ian rolled his eyes as he tossed her a napkin. "Swallow first will you?"

"That's it though." Tory snatched up the napkin as Ian gave her a puzzled look. "A cave. They would be in a cave. It's in the ground, it's away from just about everything and the caves around here are practically impossible to get to unless you were suicidal…"

"Or could fly."

Ian blinked as something clicked in his head. He and Tory stared at each other for a moment as the truth made itself known. It was a long shot but it did make sense. Everyone they had talk to that day had said that the guys always roamed the Boardwalk and the beach and they hardly if ever went uptown. Most of the people who had seen them night after night did say that they always raced along the pier at low tide and there were always tire marks along the cliffs and such. If these guys really were vampires they would consider the Boardwalk and surrounding area as their turf and they wouldn't leave it at night or during the day. The caves were about a ten minute drive from the Boardwalk and the cliffs were sheer drops that spelled out instant death for any person who tried to scale them. Surfers stayed away from the cliffs because of the rip tides and deadly currents so they were practically untouched and unexplored which would make them the perfect vampire hideout.

"What time is it?" Tory quickly asked as she stood up, looking around quickly as if paranoid that someone was watching them.

"Uh, 3:30. We're not supposed to meet the Frogs until five." Ian said as he quickly glanced down at his digital watch.

"Okay I'll meet you at the comic store at 5. Make sure you guys don't do anything without me." Tory stepped over the wooden seat and quickly hurried off before Ian realized what was going on.

"Wha? Wait Tory!" He stumbled to his feet and dashed after her. "What's going on? Tory get back here! Tory!"

"Don't worry….meet at the shop….stay put until I get there….I mean it…stay…" Tory shouted over her shoulder as she ran, vanishing around the corner of a convenience store before Ian could catch up. When he rounded the store he slowed to a walk, looking this way and that for a glimpse of the snarling black jaguar on the back of Tory's jacket but she was already long gone.

"Looks like your girlfriend can run pretty fast." Chuckled a middle-aged man as he exhaled a cloud of cigarette smoke while he sat on the curb and went back to reading the day's paper.

"She's not my girlfriend." Ian muttered as he looked left and right, not sure of what he should do next. Should he spend the rest of the time trying to track down Tory, who could be just about anywhere, or should he continue on with what they had been doing before and meet at the comic shop at five o'clock and hope that Tory showed up?

"Sure kid. Whatever you say." The man grinned as he flicked away the butt of his cigarette and shook out his paper.

Ian scowled at him from the corner of his eye but stopped when he saw a familiar face staring up at him.

"Is that today's paper?" Ian asked the guy as he peered down at the printed photograph of a girl in a catholic high school uniform that was smiling at him. "Who's the girl?"

"Says here she's Sarah Thompson, niece of some high ranking bishop in San Francisco. Went missing about a month ago and they're still looking for her. It was all over the news when it happened. Guess they figured they won't find her alive anymore so they're calling off the search. Damn shame but we got enough of our own problems to worry about. Kids go missing around here all the time and they don't even make it into the papers. No one around here is going to care about some kid from San Francisco, no matter who she's related to." The man said as he glanced over the article before he moved on to another.

"Can I have that page?" Ian asked the man as he swallowed hard and did his best to keep his voice steady.

"Sure. She don't mean a thing to me." The man tore out the page and handed it over to Ian to took it and stared at the picture, his eyes quickly moving from side to side and he read the brief article. "My own brother went missing about seven years ago and we never found a trace of him. If the damn police would do their jobs it would never have happened. Now we have serial killers running around here like it was some sort of free for all and they're still not doing a god damn thing about it."

The man continued to rant out loud about the current state of safety in Santa Carla but Ian wasn't listening.

_Sarah Thompson, aged 16 years, went missing on June 13__th__…investigators are still baffled by the disappearance…claim that she was abducted…police and investigators are calling off the search…Bishop Richard Thompson refuses to comment…_

"You okay kid? You don't look so good." The man's comment brought Ian back to the real world.

"Uh yeah. Thanks for the page." Ian mumbled as he blinked and quickly walked off before the man could ask him any more questions. As soon as he put enough distance between himself and the man on the sidewalk Ian broke into a sprint and ran like hell towards the Boardwalk and the Frogs comic shop.

Sarah Thompson was Tink. Tink was the girl from San Francisco who went missing over a month ago. Now she was abducted by people he and his friends suspected to be vampires and had been hanging around a group of bikers who were nothing but trouble.

Hanging out with them for a month.

A month.

What if he and the others were a month too late?

"Oh shit Tory where are you?" Ian muttered as he ran on, the article clutched tightly in his hand.


	10. You know she's a little bit dangerous

**Greetings folks!**

**Finally! This damn chapter is finally done! From here on in, it's one big rollercoaster ride. The Frogs are playing a huge part in this story and they've actually grown on me since I started this thing. Who knew? For all of you who have been waiting patiently for the Boys to start running amok, I thank you for your patience. Now that I have finally gotten everything set up, let's let the good times roll. **

**This chapter goes out to Mommajon, the one who inspired this thing. It was thanks to her and another awesome monster basher that I was able to do something that I had dreamed about doing for years. I love you guys. **

**I would say more, but I'm just about ready to collapse on my keyboard. (grins) I hope you guys like the chapter and many many thanks for the reviews. You don't know how much they mean to me.**

Oh and before I forget...Billy (Dwayne) says hi!

**Happy Reading**

* * *

**Missing: **Jenny Summers, age 18, vanished in 1987

**Missing: **Luke Sanderson, age 23, vanished in 1985

**Missing: **Mariah Jenkins, age 21, vanished in 1986

**Missing: **Jerome Henry, age 32, vanished in 1983

Ian stared at the wall covered in Missing Persons posters which was more of a testimony to the passage of time than anything else. There were some posters up on the wall that dated back seven years and judging by what he was seeing, those people had never been found.

From an outsider's point of view, they were just colourful sheets of paper with pictures of missing people on them but from Ian's perspective they were the obituaries for the possible victims of vampire attacks.

Daniel Orliander…**Dead**

Melissa Capadoccia…**Dead**

William Frog and Helen Frog….**Dead**

Whoa, wait.

_Frog_?

Ian frowned as he grabbed the half-covered sheet and tore it from the wall. The yellow piece of paper was faded and half-torn but the two black and white pictures of the missing couple were still clear enough to make out.

**Missing since 1980**

Ian closed his eyes for a moment as he quickly did the math in his head. It was 1987 now so the couple had been missing since 1980 that made it seven years ago they had vanished without a trace. So if it was seven years then Edgar would have been around 8 when it happened and Allan would have been 7.

_Oh man._

Ian groaned softly as he shook his head and glanced at the paper once more. Maybe they weren't the brothers' parents….they could be relations or maybe they just shared the same last name.

"We've always had the shop. Our dad was a big comic fan." Allan said from behind Ian.

"What?" Ian jumped slightly, having been unaware that he had been watched by the younger Frog brother the entire time. Ian glanced at the picture of Helen Frog before he met Allan's eyes and he could see the similarity between the two. Allan and the woman in the picture shared the same dark hair and narrow angular facial structure. "I thought that…"

"That those two stoners were our parents?" He finished off Ian's question with a slight sneer, as if saying those words left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Well….yeah." Ian swallowed hard as he watched Allan's dark eyes harden in an almost menacing way. Ian realized that he had unintentionally struck a sensitive nerve in Allan and couldn't do anything about it.

"The system didn't want to separate us when they couldn't get a hold of any of our relatives so we got stuck with those two at the shop. They wanted us because of the shop and well, you don't really have a say when you're seven." Allan snorted as he held out his hand and nodded his head. Ian didn't think twice about handing over the flyer and when he did, Allan quickly tore it to pieces. "So we run the shop while our foster parents spend all day doing nothing. It's better that way. We do things our way and nobody questions us."

"Do you think they'll ever come back?" Ian asked as he watched the torn pieces of paper scatter along the cracked pavement of the sidewalk.

"They're dead. There's no coming back." It was more of a statement than an answer and Ian gave Allan a strange look before he averted his eyes from Allan's hard stare.

"How do you know?" He couldn't help but ask. It was one of those questions you know you don't want to and shouldn't ask but you do it anyways because you can't help yourself. Curiosity killed the cat and all that.

"They never found the bodies but they found the car. Well what was left of it. The reports said it was a car accident but there wasn't a second car and the doors had been torn right off the car like a lid off a sardine can. The vampires did it. It's their style." Allan watched Ian as he caught himself gawking like an idiot. Ian opened his mouth to say something but Allan just nodded. What he had said was the honest truth and all Ian could do was accept it and move on to more important things.

"So that's why you guys are like that." Ian said as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his leather bomber jacket. It was a bad habit of his that he did every time he found himself to be in one of those awkward moments where he didn't know what to say.

"Like what?" Allan stared him down as he waited for an answer.

"You know…" Ian shrugged his shoulders and motioned with his hands, "like that. The whole _fearless vampire killers_ thing."

"Yeah." Allan's hard expression softened slightly as he cracked a small grin at Ian's vampire reference. "C'mon. I left my brother and your friend alone together to come find you. We better get back before they kill each other."

"We're probably too late." Ian muttered as he rolled his eyes. Allan nodded in solemn agreement. They could practically hear Edgar and Tory snarling at each other and when they finally made it back to the comic shop, the two teenagers were glaring at one another from either side of a stand of Superman comics.

"So you're saying that all you managed to get was a stupid Disney reference?" Edgar barked as Tory scowled at him. With her eyes narrowed and teeth gritted, she resisted the urge to knock the entire stand of comic books right onto him.

"That was one thing we found out yeah. We think we figured out where these guys are staying." Tory growled as she squeezed her hands into tight fists so that her nails dug into her palms. They were running out of a time and now wasn't the time to loose it and do something regrettable or permanent. That would be saved for later.

"You _think_?" Edgar asked without bothering to try to cover the sarcastic edge in his voice. "You had all day to search all over this place and you only _think_ you figured out where these guys stay during the day? What, was it too difficult for you to follow a lead? Would that have been asking too much? I should have known. Girls can't do anything right."

Tory's eyes widened at the remark and she caught herself before her jaw hit the ground. "Oh no you didn't."

Edgar smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah, I just did."

Ian and Allan simultaneously jumped back as Tory went from shocked to psycho in about a second flat. Comic books went flying as the stand crashed to the ground and Edgar barely avoided getting knocked down under its weight.

"That's it. I kicked your ass last night and I'm gonna kick it again!" Tory bellowed like bull as she saw red. Edgar realized that he was about ten seconds away from getting one hell of a beating from Psycho Chick and with that thought in mind he quickly scrabbled over the fallen comic stand and leapt out of Tory's reach.

"Tory!" Ian yelled as Edgar bolted past him, ducking as he did so. Comic books flew after him as Tory pelted the Frog with whatever she could get her hands on.

"Not the comics!" Allan yelped as he valiantly tried to rescue a bunch of Superman issue #356 comics from Tory's hair-trigger wrath.

"Shut up Ian." She snapped as she pushed him out of the way and started to chase Edgar around the comic shop like a raving lunatic.

"Don't tell me to shut up." Ian snapped as he looked around the store.

There were a few customers that had stopped their browsing to watch the commotion while Allan scooped up fallen comics as quickly as he could, turning a deaf ear to Tory's threats and Edgar's rebuttals.

"Yeah why don't you listen to your boyfriend for once and maybe you could learn something." Edgar egged Tory as they came to a stalemate between another comic stand, this one bigger than the one Tory had just knocked over.

"Shut up Edgar." Ian growled as he bent over to grab a few comics that had slipped out of Allan's arms. That was when he remembered the newspaper article in his pocket. "Tory I found something out about Tink that…" He began but Tory quickly cut him off.

"Good for you Ian. Get back here Frog!" Tory stamped her foot in annoyance and charged around the comic stand as Edgar just ran the other way and they were back to their stalemate, this time on opposite sides.

"Make me!" Edgar challenged and ducked as a Batman comic whizzed overhead. Instead of nailing Edgar the comic missed him and hit Allan in the face just as he straightened up with another armload of Superman comics.

"Will you two just cut it out already?" Allan growled as he reached up to grab the Batman comic and in doing so accidentally dropped the comics he was already holding.

"Who's side are you on?" Edgar muttered as he shot his brother a dark look.

"Guys will you just chill for a second? I found out who Tink really is and it's kinda important." Ian said quickly as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the folded article. "Listen, her picture was in the paper and it says that her real name is Sarah Thomp…"

"Hey! Put that down! That's an issue 24 and there's only fifteen of them left in the world." Allan literally screamed when he caught sight of what Tory was holding in her hands.

Tory eyed the fragile Wonder Woman comic she was holding and inspiration struck. The tables turned so quickly it made Edgar's head spin.

"Oh yeah? _Make me_." Her crafty grin reached her eyes as she raised the comic up and pretended to start tearing it in half.

"The hell I will!" Edgar threw himself at the comic stand and tried to swipe the comic from Tory, but she just danced back and laughed. Allan dropped everything and ran to his brother's aid as the two Frogs frantically began to chase Tory up and down the shop in a mad attempt to save one of their most valuable comics. How Tory had managed to get her hands on that specific comic was beyond them but right now all they cared about was preventing a tragedy from occurring.

"Guys! Stop it! You're acting like a bunch of retards!" Ian had to shout to make himself heard over the all the racket that the three of them were making. The customers that had been watching shook their heads and left the shop as Tory jumped onto the front counter and held the comic book above the Frogs heads but well out of their reach.

"Give it back!" Allan jumped and almost snagged the comic but Tory yanked it up a second faster.

"No!" She spat and backed away. "Whoooooa shit!" She swore as she stepped too far and literally fell right off the counter, practically landing on the laps of the Frogs' sleeping foster parents.

Ian just watched as the Frog brothers threw themselves onto his best friend before he turned around and walked right out of the shop. "Fuck this."

He had just about had it with Tory and her out-of-control behavior. No matter what he did or how hard he tried he could never fully understand his best friend. She was ballsy where he was passive and yet she was clueless when it came to solving issues without resorting to some sort of fist fight. That's what he loved about her though. Tory would never back down from any fight, no matter who or what she was up against. Tory didn't know how to back down. She fought with her heart but Ian constantly wished that she'd use her head a little more. He was getting tired of trying to keep her on the straight and narrow.

Ian didn't see where he was going as he stormed off into the bustling heart of the Boardwalk and he was nearly cut down by a motorcyclist as he jay-walked across the main road that ran from one end of the Boardwalk to the other.

"Hey watch it!" He shouted as the bright glare of headlights gave him a split-second window to get out of the way. "Asshole!" Ian barked as the biker shot past with a hearty roar, cutting so close that Ian stumbled back onto the sidewalk as the guy clipped him on the shoulder.

"Smooth move kid." A leather-clad street punk snickered as he stepped over Ian without so much as a second thought as Ian lay his back, winded.

Instead of contemplating how close he came to being run over Ian couldn't help but think of what Tory would do in a situation like this. Well, the answer was simple. She'd take a stand and hack the guy's side-mirrors off. To Ian the side-mirror thing would be going too far but he could take a stand.

"That's it." Ian growled to himself as he picked himself up and dusted off his jacket. He was tired of being a doormat. It was time to show some teeth.

Little did he know how close he came to some serious teeth as he stepped out onto the road once more, his eyes on the leather-clad back of the biker who had clipped him. Just as he started towards the biker another hearty roar of a bike engine snarled out behind him and Ian jumped a mile as a colourful blur shot past him, expertly avoiding Ian by a few inches.

"Oh for Christ's sakes will you people stop already!" Ian shouted as he flipped the colouful biker the bird, only to realize two seconds later just who he had insulted. The biker shot him a god-awful look that made Ian shrink back into the crowd before he drove off with a squeal of rubber. "Oh crap…."

Well problem one of the mystery bikers solved. Here was one of them right now. Ian didn't stick around to see where Marko drove off to as he ran pell-mell back into the comic shop, pushing aside everyone who stood in his way, big and small.

"Guys! Holy crap guys! Edgar! Tory!" Ian shouted as he skidded past the front of the shop and practically dove in to find Tory and the Frogs locked in some weird three person head-lock, struggling back and forth in the middle of the store. "_Guys!_ **PEOPLE!**"

His roared out as loud as he could and everyone seemed to freeze as they turned and looked at him.

"_What_!" Edgar, Allan and Tory shouted in unison as they held on to each other, refusing to let go.

"Outside." Ian pointed over his shoulder as he tried to catch his breath.

"What?" Asked Allan as he twisted himself away from Edgar and Tory who still had their hands around each other's throats.

"He's outside." Ian repeated himself.

"Who is?" This time it was Tory who asked. She and Edgar glared one final time before they simultaneously released one another.

"One of the bikers." Ian rolled his eyes. C'mon, it was kind of obvious wasn't it?

"Which one? Mullet Guy?" Edgar picked up his green bandana that had fallen off during the scuffle and quickly retied it around his head, knotting it twice for security. He kept one eye on Tory as he moved towards Ian and he caught the scowl she sent him but thought better than to comment on it.

Ian shook his head as he glanced over his shoulder to make sure that they were alone in the shop. "No. The dude with the patched jacket."

"Which one's that one?" Allan asked as he went over to the fallen comic stand and motioned Ian to help him straighten it.

It took them five seconds to stand it up but the mess of comics that covered the floor was another story. Ian and Allan looked at them for a second before they both stepped away. Since Tory was the one who knocked them down, she could be the one to put them back.

"The little one." Edgar responded before he walked to the front of the store and stuck his head out as he carefully looked up and down their small stretch of the Boardwalk, scanning the crowd for a loud and colourful patched jacket.

"Well where is he?" Tory asked, her arms crossed over her chest while she watched the Frogs stand there as if unsure of what to do next.

"Well if you guys had cared to notice while you were acting like a bunch of morons you would have seen him drive by about three seconds ago." Ian muttered as he gave Tory an accusing look.

"Shit!" Allan swore before he ran to the back of the store and vanished into the back room before anyone could say anything.

"What's his problem?" Tory asked to no one in particular.

"Okay. Here's what we'll do." Edgar barked, taking command over the situation. "You two stay here until we find out where he's gone. If you see any of the other ones drive by, let us know."

Ian opened his mouth to say something but once again, Tory bet him to it. "Okay two questions. First, why do we have to stay behind and second how are we supposed to let you know? By carrier pigeon?" She arched an eyebrow and gave Edgar an expected look while Ian just sighed.

Here they go again…again.

"Well to answer your first question there is no point in all of us running around the Boardwalk in case the rest of the gang does decide to show up because then we'll probably miss them and for your second question you can reach us with these." Edgar said as he hurried behind the front counter and pulled out from underneath the register two green battered-looking field walkie-talkies that looked like they had seen some serious action in Vietnam.

"Oh whoopee. Where did you pick up those things from, the army surplus store? Do they even work?" Tory snorted as she looked over at Ian but for once, Ian didn't meet her gaze.

"Of course they work." Edgar growled as he picked one up and switched it on. Instead of the expected buzz of static, the walkie-talkie remained silent. Scowling, Edgar slammed the thing on the counter a couple of times before it crackled to life with a sharp whine. "There. Okay, once we track the guy down we'll let you know and you two can meet us at the spot. But until then, you stay put."

"How about you two stay here and run your little store and Ian and I will track this guy down. We know the Boardwalk better than you do." Tory suggested with a sarcastic smile as she walked over to the cash counter and picked up one of the walkie-talkies, weighing it with both hands. The thing was about as heavy as a damn brick.

"That I highly doubt and you know just about jack shit about vampires." Edgar snickered as he reached over and yanked the walkie-talkie out of her hands and handed it over to Ian. "If you tried to follow him he'd hear you coming a mile off."

"In that crowd? Who do you think you're kidding Edgar?" Tory drummed her fingers on the counter top as Ian came over and took the walkie-talkie.

"No one. You have a big mouth and a fog horn couldn't be louder than you." Edgar said as he picked up the other walkie-talkie and began to fiddle with the dials. "Check, check, alpha bravo to fox trot Charlie, check."

"I outta make you look like something out of _Platoon_, scars and all." Tory growled softly as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Edgar.

"I'll have to take a rain check on that. Allan!" Edgar shouted over his shoulder as he found the right channel and the two walkie-talkies hummed in unison.

"Okay I got the stuff. Everything's in here." Allan panted as he tore out of the back room loaded down with two back packs filled with vampire killing equipment as well as a drinking canister filled with holy water and a few combat knives that were sheathed and ready to go.

"You sure?" Edgar asked as he put down his walkie-talkie and took one of the packs from his brother. "Knife." He waved a hand and Allan handed over his prized Green Barrett combat knife that he quickly hooked to his belt for easy access.

"Sure I'm sure. There's no time to do a weapons check. We gotta go now!" Allan took up the walkie-talkie and stuffed it into a side pocket, making sure that it was still on and that the volume was turned up.

Ian and Tory moved out of the way as Edgar tossed his pack over a shoulder and jumped over the front counter with ease. Tory opened her mouth to say something but both brothers ran out of the store without another word, leaving the two of them alone.

"Okay…now what?" Tory asked out-loud as she glanced at the remaining walkie-talkie in Ian's hands.

"So where the hell did you go today?" Ian asked as he placed the walkie-talkie on the counter. "I couldn't find you anywhere? Why did you bail out on me?"

"Oh Ian, not now." Tory groaned but Ian turned to face her.

"Yes now! I was worried sick about you. Why the hell did you do that?" Ian demanded as he stood in her way, refusing to budge. Tory didn't know what to think.

"Why do you care?" She muttered, slipping into her tough girl persona as she started to feel cornered. Ian was her best friend but never before had he gone head to head with her. That just wasn't Ian's way. And Ian should know better than to try to demand anything from her. When push came to shove Tory always kicked to the groin, no matter who it was. That was just how things were.

However whatever nerve Ian had worked up stayed with him and soon the two friends were in the middle of a heated argument with Ian on the offensive for probably the first time in his life. As Ian tried to get the truth from Tory, Edgar and Allen were stuck in the middle of a decent sized crowd of people, looking both high and low when the trail went cold turkey.

"Which way did he go man?" Allan asked, ignoring the suspicious stare he got from an older couple as they gave him a once over and quickly moved on, muttering to themselves.

Edgar turned on the spot, peering at the crowd as he tried to spot a biker with a patched jacket. "I don't know. Look for a patched jacket or a bike."

"There are bikes everywhere." Allan pointed out as he jumped up in order to look over the heads of a few tall people that wouldn't move out of his way.

"No shit Sherlock." Edgar growled as he shot a filthy look over his shoulder at a bunch of twenty-something guys that rudely shouldered him out of their way. He was about to say something but Allan leapt high into the air and shouted.

"Wait! I think I see him!"

"Where?" Edgar spun around and tried to see what Allan was looking at but the tall people were standing in his way, talking about god knows what and were about as oblivious as a herd of cattle.

Allan jumped up once more and pointed off to the left before he landed. "Over there!"

"Are you sure that's him?" Edgar asked. He'd have to trust Allan's judgment because he couldn't see a damn thing.

"Who cares, c'mon."

Allan took off like a shot and Edgar had to hurry after him in order not to loose him in the crowd. With Allan in the lead like a dog on a scent, the two Frogs weaved their way through people, concession stands and the occasional snoozing homeless bum as Marko pulled up in front of the VideoMax video rental store and parked his bike beside a gleaming red convertible. Marko dismounted and quickly looked around before he lowered his head and entered the store.

"It is him…and he's going into VideoMax. What's our plan of action?" Allan skidded to a stop and waited for Edgar to catch up as he watched Marko vanish through the door.

"Christ, when did you join the track team?" Edgar muttered as he bent over, massaging a stitch in his side. "Our plan? Uhh…right. Keep it cool. We go in and see what's going on."

"Good plan." Allan nodded and Edgar had to grab his pack in order to hold him back so that Allan didn't run straight into the store and blow their cover. His brother was an awesome monster basher but Allan still had to work out a few over-eagerness issues.

Once Allan had calmed down slightly the Frogs strolled into the store, trying their best to look like the average teenage consumer. Allan's eyes darted left and right before he zeroed in on Marko who was talking to Max in the back corner of the store. He started to make a bee-line over to the two when a sharp growl made him jump back a few feet.

"Don't worry, he won't hurt you." Edgar said as he stepped in from of Allan, putting himself between his brother and the large white Shepard that was lying behind the cash counter, watching them closely. Edgar studied the dog for a moment before he jerked his head and drift towards the back of the store as he and Allan pretended to browse the videotapes when in fact they were trying to eavesdrop in on the conversation. They stopped behind a rack of tapes when they came within hearing range.

"How many times have I told you not to come here?" Max said quietly, his arms crossed over his chest as he glared down at Marko, standing a good head and a bit taller than the leather clad teen.

"Listen something happened last night that…" Marko looked over his shoulder and lowered his voice but before he could say more, Max cut him off.

"I don't want to hear about last night."

"But…" Marko stared up at him and quickly looked away when he realized that that wasn't a smart move.

"But what? Hmmm?" Max's voice carried the faintest edge to it and even though no one else in the store seemed to notice it, the biker shuddered slightly as if someone had just walked over his grave.

Edgar and Allan look at each other, both of them thinking the same thing. _What was that about?_

Marko fidgeted under Max's scrutinizing stare and even though he knew that he had to say something he didn't.

"Good." Max said and suddenly turned around, his eyes landing on the lingering duo behind him. "Can I help you boys with anything?"

"Uh….." Edgar blinked. Talk about bad timing for a major brain fart.

"We were uh… just looking." Allan said as he carefully stepped on Edgar's foot. That seemed to get him back on track.

"And we found what we wanted. Right here." Edgar smiled slightly as he picked up a random video tape and held it up. "See?"

"Very well then. Come with me." Max beckoned the two to follow with him a slight nod of his head as he walked over to the cash register while Marko ground his teeth and followed him, not about to get pushed aside.

Edgar and Allan trailed after Marko but tried to keep their distance from the guy without making it seem obvious. They tried a little two hard because Allan accidentally ended up walking straight into a video shelf, knocking over a few tapes. He scrambled to pick them up and put them back while Edgar went to the cash counter and placed the video tape down in front of him. With Marko standing to his left and Max right in front of him, Edgar suddenly felt less self-assured then he did when he walked into the store. There was something about the set-up that put him on edge. And where the hell was his wingman?

"Gone with the Wind?" Max asked as he looked right at Edgar.

"Uh what?" Edgar asked confused as he tried to shake off a sudden case of the heebie jeebies.

Max arched an eyebrow as he held up the tape so that Edgar could see the title _Gone With The Wind_ written on the case. Edgar just stared at it, completely at a loss until Allan jumped in with an excuse.

"Yeah…it's for our mom."

"_Nice one_." Edgar thought as he nodded his head to confirm Allan's reply. Hey, what the hell was he supposed to say to that? That it was his favorite film? He didn't even know the first thing about the damn movie.

"I see." Max frowned slightly before he turned and worked the cash register. Edgar nudged Allan with his elbow as he took out his wallet and Allan carefully pulled out a small mirror that fitted neatly in the palm of his hand from his pant pocket without attracting any attention.

Marko was standing close to Edgar as he waited for the Frogs to leave in order to Max once more without any interruptions.

"That'll be $2.45."

Even though he had a five dollar bill in his wallet, Edgar began to scrounge up a bunch of change and as he started to count it out he purposely dropped his wallet and loose change went everywhere.

"Oh jeez. Sorry. I'll get it. How much was it again?" He asked, sounding as if it were an accident while he tried to buy Allan some time.

While Edgar was busy distracting Max, Allan held the mirror next to his leg and angled it in Marko's direction. It took a few tries to get the mirror angled just right but he finally got it and glanced down see if Marko had a reflection. The mirror was empty. Allan's eyes grew wide as he quickly stuffed the mirror into his pocket and tugged on the corner of Edgar's shirt, giving him the all clear.

"Here's your video and your receipt. It is due back on Saturday by eleven." Max handed over the receipt that Edgar took and stuffed into his pocket.

"Yeah thanks." Edgar nodded his head and shouldered his brother forward as they quickly moved away from the counter. Max stood there and waited until Edgar zipped back a second later and picked up the tape that he had forgotten to take with him.

"Right." He smiled weakly before he turned and practically flew right out of the store with Allan shadowing him. "Man that was bad. We nearly gave ourselves away."

"Yeah well he's one of them." Allan said after he looked over his shoulder to make sure that they weren't being watched or followed by anyone from the video store.

Edgar stopped and grabbed his brother's arm, spinning him around to face him. "You sure?"

"Positive. He didn't have a reflection." Allan grinned as he reached into his pocket and held up the small mirror. Edgar glanced at it and slowly nodded his head.

"Great. Our first blood sucker." He smiled as he high-fived his brother, both of them trying to down-play their excitement. "Get a hold of Ian and tell him to get his butt here pronto."

"Right." Allan pocketed the mirror and quickly reached for the walkie-talkie while Edgar stuffed the _Gone with the Wind _tape into his bag. "Ian do you copy? Do you copy Ian, over." Allan released his hold on the talk button and waited 30 seconds for a response before he tried again. "Ian? Tory? Do you copy over?"

Allan counted down the seconds in his head as Edgar scanned the crowd.

"They're not answering."

"Yeah well never mind that. They're already here." Edgar said as he squinted at something that was weaving its way through the crowd.

"What?" Allan lowered the walkie-talkie and gave his brother a puzzled look.

"Can't you hear them?" Edgar asked before he pointed at what he was looking at. Allan followed his brother's direction and instantly saw what he meant. Tory was stomping through people with Ian hot on her heels; his voiced was raised loud enough for the Frogs to make out from where they stood.

"You know what Tory, I'm sick of being left in the dark about everything. How was I supposed to know you didn't end up getting yourself killed or something?" Ian practically shouted as Tory shoved two girls out of her way. Ian didn't even stop to apologize to them for his friend's behavior like he would normally have done. Instead he reached out and grabbed Tory by her arm, slowing her down so that they could talk face to face.

"What the hell? Who do you think you are, my mother? I already told you. I had to take care of some things this afternoon." Tory whirled around and seethed while Ian just stood there, jaw jutted forward in determination. When he refused to back down Tory threw her hands up in defeat and stomped off once again.

"Yeah well you could have told me that before you ran off without so much as a decent excuse." Ian shouted after her.

"Oh give it a rest Ian." Tory snapped over her shoulder as she refused to turn around and look at him.

"No I won't give it a rest because you're always pulling this shit and one day I won't be there to save your butt when you get yourself into trouble." Ian stayed where he was and crossed his arms over his chest. He had shouted the words loud enough that everyone else around them had stopped what they were doing. Tory didn't have a choice as everyone's eyes suddenly looked in her direction.

"Hey I can handle myself just fine and I don't need anyone to help me alright?" Tory turned and growled out the words through clenched teeth, keeping her voice as low as possible so that she wouldn't draw any more attention to herself.

"Oh yeah? What about that time when you got into that mess with Brooke's gang? Who was the one who bailed you out before they…" Ian walked forward as he spoke so that he could lower his voice as well. He had issues with Tory, fine, but the entire world didn't have to eavesdrop on the conversation.

Before everyone could find out what it was that Ian had bailed Tory out of, Edgar and Allan appeared on either side of Tory in an attempt to regulate the argument.

"I hate to interrupt you two love birds but will you please shut the hell up?" Edgar said as he glared at the both of them, trying to get his point across with as few words as possible.

"What is with you and stupid relationship remarks? Can't you think of anything else to throw at me?" Tory snapped as she glared right back. Edgar just glowered at her before she decided to drop it and say nothing.

"We got ourselves a genuine blood sucker. This guy is for real." Allan murmured quietly as his eyes darted back and forth, making sure that no one else besides Ian and Tory could hear him.

"For real? What? Did you throw holy water on him and watch him smoke?" Tory muttered under her breath as she turned her back on Edgar and faced Allan.

"No. But he didn't have a reflection. No reflection means he's not part of the living." Allan emphasized his words by producing the small mirror once more and showing it to Tory.

"And….that's it? No reflection?" Tory asked with both eyebrows raised skeptically while glancing at the mirror.

"That's prime proof that this guy is a vampire. What more could you want?" Allan asked as Edgar plucked the mirror out of his hand and quickly pocketed it before anyone else could see.

"I don't know. How about some fangs?" Tory's words came out harsher than she had meant them to and the pained look on Allan's face was proof enough that she had hit a sensitive spot.

"You know you're really starting to piss me off Tory." Edgar growled as he came to his brother's defense.

"Finally. I've been waiting all night to hear you say that." Tory said sarcastically before Ian joined them.

"Tory, just shut up already." Ian said before he turned to the Frogs. "So the biker is a vampire right? You guys are sure about this?"

"Yeah. He's one of the undead." Allan muttered as he scowled darkly at Tory.

"Well if he's one then it's safe to assume that the others are vampires too right?" Ian asked them as he quickly checked the time on his digital wristwatch while Tory stood a little off to the side, eavesdropping without appearing to do so.

"That's my guess. So now we're up against a bunch of biker vampires that are bad news on a regular basis. Ian, I don't know where you get your friends from, but they all seem to be nothing but trouble." Edgar said as he adjusted the straps of his back pack and gave Ian a knowing look.

"Yeah well there's nothing I can do about it." Ian shrugged as he secreted a glance at Tory. "So where is this guy now? Is he still here?"

Edgar nodded. "He should still be in the video store. His bike's parked beside the red convertible."

"Oh yeah? You sure about that?" Tory spoke up and tilted her head towards the video store before Edgar could jump down her throat. "Doesn't look like it to me."

Edgar and Allan looked over their shoulders just as Marko kick-started his bike to life and drove off in the direction that he had come from.

"Oh crap! He's getting away!" Allan swore and before anyone could stop him, he took off like a shot after Marko.

"Allan wait! Damn it! More running." Edgar bickered as he grabbed Tory by one arm and Ian by the other and dragged them with him as he hurried to keep Allan in sight. It was a high-paced race of fox and chicken and despite the pack full of anti-vampire items that he was carrying Allan managed to keep pace with Marko as the vampire carefully maneuvered his way through the moving crowd.

"Guys! Guys! Over here!" Allan raised both arms and waved frantically as he stopped beside a hot dog stand and motioned Edgar and the others to join him.

"Put your arms down! Do you want every vampire in Santa Carla to know that we're onto them?" Edgar hissed as he slowed to a stop and bent over, resting his elbows against his thighs as he sucked in air like it was going out of style.

"Oh…right." Allan quickly dropped his arms.

"So where is he?" Tory asked, panting as well but nowhere near as much as Edgar. "Looks like someone needs to start working out."

"Shut up." Edgar grumbled before he straightened up and adjusted his bandana so that his hair was out of his eyes. "Allan?"

"Over there." Allan quietly said as he stepped behind the hot dog stand so that he was partially hidden. The others closed in around him as they stared across the street from under the striped canopy. Marko had suddenly come to a jerking halt in the middle of the road for some reason and he was staring intensely at the large glass window of an electronics shop. From their distance, the Frogs and Ian and Tory couldn't hear nor see what had made Marko turn deathly pale and rigid.

**Special News Bulletin**

"_This is Carol Harper reporting to you with a special report. This just in. There has been a breakthrough in the string of homicide cases that have been plaguing Santa Carla. Forensic investigators have uncovered sufficient evidence that links one man to the recent killings of female prostitutes in the red light district. Today's double homicide at the _Wayside Motel_ is connected to the other recent murders done by a singular individual who people are now calling the Red Letter Killer. Police have received an anonymous tip to the true identity of the killer and a city-wide manhunt is now underway. Police Chief Henry Morton is scheduled to hold a public conference in regard to this new turn of events. The suspect's name has not been released yet but a profile sketch has been provided. The suspect in question is Caucasian male, aged 18-25, around 6 foot 1, average build, blonde hair, and weighs between 140-160 pounds. Anyone with any information is asked to call police._

"What's he staring at?" Ian asked quietly as they all squinted and tried to make out what was on the television screen. Allan just shrugged and tried to get a closer look but Edgar held him back.

"Wait and see what he does." Edgar said as they all waited to see what would happen next.

Unaware that he was being watched, Marko couldn't take his eyes off what he was seeing. An accurate sketch of Paul was staring at him from the television screen as the news anchor continued to talk about the most recent homicide. Marko felt as though the pit of his stomach no longer existed. He couldn't believe it. It was impossible but still happening at the same time. Paul was being accused of killing over 7 people on public television that was being broadcasted along the Californian coast. Humans were now out to get him. Paul had been exposed.

Max was going to murder them.

"Oh _shit_." Marko didn't know whether to curse or cry. This was bad. This was _beyond_ bad. This was catastrophic.

"Oh man." Marko glanced around out of habit as he viciously revved his bike and took off in a screech of rubber and smoke. He had to tell the others. He had to tell them _now_. David would figure out how to fix this. Marko didn't even know if it even could be fixed. Max always reminded them what would happen if any one of them were ever to be exposed to the public and they had always been extra careful about where they hid the bodies of their victims so that something like this would not happen. But now it was happening. What the hell were they going to do!

"I'll bet you a case of silver bullets that he's headed towards the caves." Tory said as they watched Marko race off in what could only be called a mad panic. Edgar and Allan looked at each other for a moment as they dwelled on this.

"What makes you say that?" Allan asked Tory despite his misgivings about her.

"It's a long story but we figured that those guys must be hiding in one of the caves off of Hudson's Bluff. The only thing is that if they're there, how are we supposed to get there?" Ian spoke up as he watched the Frog brothers to see what they would do. They were the monster hunters so tracking monsters should be in their field of expertise.

"Simple. We ride." Edgar said as he eyed a few bikes that were propped up against one another along the edge of the Boardwalk.

"We're stealing kids' bikes?" Tory couldn't believe it. She had thought that they'd commandeer dirt bikes or something to that effect….not bicycles.

"You got a better idea? Not all of us are motorcycle professionals." Edgar grumbled as he and Allan grabbed a bike each and hopped on. "If he's headed for the bluff like you say he is, he'll be easy to track. No one goes there at this time of night. We'll be able to follow his tracks straight to whatever cave they're using as their lair."

Tory shook her head as she took a bike. She wasn't looking forward to the amount of peddling she was going to have to do but seeing that all her favors in the transportation department had been used up, she really didn't have much of a choice.

"You sound like you've done this before." Ian said as he grabbed the last bike, feeling slightly guilty about taking it. But this was an emergency…sort of.

"Only in theory." Allan said as he reached into his backpack and pulled out two flashlights and a roll of duck tape. Both he and Edgar quickly taped the flashlights to the handlebars of their bikes, creating makeshift headlights that would allow them to see where they were going before they took off in Marko's direction.

"Something tells me I'm not going to like this." Tory grumbled to herself as Ian sped off after the Frogs without a word, keeping his eyes straight ahead as Tory watched him go. Physical labor and now the silent treatment, the night was just getting better and better.


	11. Vamp Ethics 101

**Hey all!**

**Finally. I am finally done this chapter. It's the longest that I've ever written for a fan fiction and I have to say that it is probably my favorite chapter in this story. It's about Sarah and Lincoln and I am amazed at what Lincoln is capable of. I swear I had no idea that he could actually be so deep...yeah that's right, Lincoln's deep. Who knew? **

**Anyways I hope you guys really enjoy this chapter as much as I do. I know it's a bit wordy...I have a serious habit with writing down every tiny detail, but for this chapter it's worth it. I hope you guys enjoy my new spin on vampires and if there's anything you want me to clarify or change or whatever...just let me know. Also to all you cool cats out there who have read, reviewed, or glanced at this story, I give you all major kudos. You guys are keeping me going!**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

The grandfather clock quietly ticked away the minutes as Lincoln gazed down at the handcrafted chess board with a slight frown on his face. He knew that he would have to sacrifice his bishop in order to move forward with his game plan, but something told him that there was a hidden threat on the board. He just couldn't see it and it was getting him nervous.

"Still thinking?" Lucard asked as he leaned back in his chair and watched Lincoln with a quiet calm about him.

"Give me a minute." Lincoln muttered as he shifted in his seat and leaned forward. His mind was working a mile a minute as he quickly envisioned a number of different moves and their supposed consequences. The black and white squares seemed to glow as he mapped out the route for his remaining knight. If he went after Lucard's queen, he risked exposing his king. But if he didn't the queen would take out three of his men in a single move. That queen was proving to be one seriously nasty bitch.

Lincoln nodded to himself as he reached over and moved the knight and claimed Lucard's rook. The queen was almost in his reach and Lincoln silently hoped that Lucard would be tempted by his three exposed men. If he was and the queen claimed them, the knight would pounce and from there Lincoln would have no problem winning the game.

"Ah." Lucard murmured as he watched Lincoln place the taken rook in his pile of claimed pieces. Both vampires were staring hard at the chess board, their faces unreadable and the only sound that could be heard was the steady beat of the grandfather clock.

"I must say Lincoln you have definitely improved since the last time we played." Lucard said as he eyed his men carefully.

"I got nothin' to do all day so I figured I might as well get a few rounds in while you're snorin' away. Looks like it paid off wouldn't you say?" Lincoln asked as he allowed himself to smile slightly as his eyes locked onto Lucard's right hand in anticipation. Would he take the bait?

"First of all Lincoln I do not snore." Lucard said as he arched an eyebrow and glanced at his fledgling/bodyguard. Lincoln grinned despite himself and Lucard had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. "Secondly, it has paid off…but you still have much to learn."

Lucard lifted his hand and carefully picked up his queen. He caught the glint in Lincoln's eyes but didn't react to it as he moved the piece away from the tempting threesome that was waiting to be claimed. "Check."

"What?" Lincoln sat straight up and scanned the board. Check? What check!

"Even if there is an easy advance to be gained, you must always question why. Nothing ever happens by chance…" Lucard began as he massaged the bridge of his nose.

"Because everythin' happens for a reason. I hear you." Lincoln muttered as he shook his head. How had he missed that move? Now Lucard's queen was in the perfect position to claim his king and none of his pieces were within range to take her out. Damn it!

"Well ain't this just swell." Lincoln growled as he moved his knight forward for the hell of it. He had lost anyways.

"Checkmate." Lucard said as he moved his queen and knocked the black king off its square. "The round goes to me."

Lincoln sighed moodily and sat back as he glared down at the white queen that seemed to taunt him. "I didn' even see it." He growled to himself.

Lucard watched him for a moment as he smiled softly. It was rare that Lincoln ever lost in anything he did but Lucard knew that he had to put him in his place now and then in order to keep his ego in check. A pompous vampire was a dead vampire. Lincoln was far from pompous but sometimes he seemed too sure of himself and that was when he was liable to make a mistake without even realizing it. Lucard knew how much Lincoln hated to loose and he also knew that he had much to teach the rebel vampire, even after all these years.

"Even the best of us do not always see things until it is too late." Lucard consoled as he began to rearrange the pieces back to their rightful places on the board. "You can now see things three steps ahead and compared to what you used to be like, that is something to be very proud of." Lucard continued as Lincoln ran a hand through his messy hair in order to get it out of his face.

"But?" Lincoln asked. There was always a but in these conversations.

"But," Lucard chuckled as he picked up the white queen and held it aloft, "you are going to have to learn to see things ten steps ahead if you ever hope to beat me at this game."

Lincoln snorted and that snort quickly turned into laughter. The two vampires chuckled as Lincoln reached over and took the queen. "How come you always seem to know how things turn out?" He asked Lucard as he twiddled the chess piece over his fingers.

"I do not." Lucard said simply. "However when you get to be my age you will be able to spot patterns miles away in anything you associate yourself with. Experience and intelligence is everything when it comes to achieving the ends to your means Lincoln, never forget that." Lucard nodded his head as he placed his king back on its black square. "I would not be here today if I was not able to foresee and manipulate my rivals. As it stands, surviving in this world is like a game of chess only with more pieces to move about the board. In the end, there will always be one victor. If you want that victor to be you, you must always go into everything already knowing how it will end."

"Shoo it's too early for me to handle that much philosophical yammerin'." Lincoln grinned lazily as he reached over and placed the queen beside the king. "But I gotta say, I think I'm startin' to get it. Those boys never even saw me comin'."

"Oh really?" Lucard asked as his eyebrows knitted together in a frown.

"Yeah really. I think David was onto me, but I expected that. You can't touch that guy even if you're standin' right in front of him. But the others," Lincoln snorted as he rolled his head from side to side, "dumb as mud. Especially the pot head. Looks like Max don't give a right damn about what happens to them cause if he did, they'd be better trained. I think he's leavin' it for David to do all the dirty work. Figures."

"Do not underestimate Von Ruben Lincoln. He is more than a match for most vampires, even if he treats his own like livestock." Lucard said his voice firm and low. Oh yes, he knew how Maxim Ilion von Ruben worked. The man may have changed his fashion sense over the years but personality wise, he was still the same card shark he had always been.

"So what ever happened between you and Max? What was all that "water under the bridge" crap he was talkin' about last night?" Lincoln asked, curiosity getting the better of him. He knew that Lucard did not like to discuss past dealings but he couldn't get the previous nights conversation out of his head.

"I was waiting for you to bring that up." Lucard said slowly as he carefully took out his engraved pocket watch and checked the time. "I will not get into it with you right now but I will tell you this. Von Ruben and I used to be something like yourself and David. We did not loath each other at first however. Von Ruben was new to the blood, an aristocrat with an unusually sharp sense for personal gain and a lover of the cards."

Upon hearing this Lincoln interrupted Lucard, which was highly unusual because Lincoln knew better then to ever interrupt the master vampire. "You mean he was a gambler? Him? Somehow he don't strike me as the type."

"He would not. Von Ruben knows how to transform himself and pass for any type of person from any class and social standing. He was and still is an artist of deception." Lucard explained as Lincoln sat back and listened closely. "However by this time I was rising in the ranks and had some power to my standing in the vampire circles, even though I was less than half the age of some of the masters then. Dare I say it, I was a bit full of myself in those days. It is true what they say about power getting to your head."

Lucard paused as he reflected on his words while Lincoln sat there, not saying a thing. If Lucard was going to tell him anything it would be Lucard's decision. The only thing Lincoln could do was wait and hope that he'd get some dirt on old Max.

"It was in the winter of 1768 when our paths crossed. Von Ruben wanted to gain power through the social circles while I wanted to pass on my knowledge to a new generation. We were inseparable then. However things came to an end in the middle of the 19th century and we parted company. Von Ruben left Europe and I went on to head the Coven in Germany. After the First World War I came from Europe seeking to establish new territory and that was when he and I met once more. This time it was different. Von Ruben considered America to be his own and I was not welcome here. That all changed once some of the Elders arrived and then things went badly for Von Ruben. Banished from his territory on the east coast, he was more than bitter towards me and has been ever since. I was granted what used to be his land and he wanted it back, still does mind you. He blames me for his loss. Personally I think it was because the Elders refused to let him join our rank. Von Ruben is a man of power who craves it as we crave blood. He will not stop until he has it. I do not think he will ever be satisfied."

Lucard stroked his chin as he paused, lost in thought while Lincoln pondered over what he had just heard. "So that's why he's always tryin' to get a deal from you. He's been tryin' to get back what he used to have."

"Exactly. Under normal circumstances I would refuse but as you know I am not getting any younger and my time is spread so thin these days that I cannot watch over all of my territory. Such is the consequence of age." Lucard sighed softly and folded his hands in front of him, smiling slightly.

"So was it worth it?" Lincoln asked as he tilted his head, giving the master vampire a questioning look.

"Was what worth it?" Lucard asked curiously.

"Us. Tradin' Max land for us. I still can't see why you do it." Lincoln shrugged his shoulders in an almost sheepish manner as Lucard's expression softened. The master vampire rose from his seat and clapped a large hand on Lincoln's shoulder as he stood beside him.

"Yes it was Lincoln, despite all the headaches you have given me over the years, and someday you will understand why." Lucard replied, his deep voice reassuring and firm. "But enough talk for now. There is work to be done, seeing that we no longer lead a bachelor life."

"Ugh, c'mon," Lincoln groaned as he tilted his head back and glanced up at Lucard, "do I have to?"

Lucard raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms over his chest. That was enough of an answer to make Lincoln haul himself out of his chair.

"Alright, alright." Lincoln muttered as he stood up and stretched, arching his back like a cat until he felt his spine pop. "So where do ya want me to take her? Around here or further out?"

"For safety's sake I would prefer it if you were to remain close to the house. Even though Von Ruben has no choice but to tolerate my presence for now there is no such thing as being too careful. Especially after what you have been up to." Lucard said as he gave Lincoln a stern look before he headed for the front hallway.

"Fine. When are you gonna be back?" Lincoln asked as he trailed after Lucard, not so much as a dog following its master but more like a pupil following his teacher.

"A few hours before sunrise. I expect you two to be back before then." Lucard said as he went over to the hallway closet and took out his jacket as Lincoln stood a little ways off, waiting for further instruction.

"I don't mean to talk outta line or anythin' but shouldn't you be doin' this?" Lincoln asked as he glanced at the winding banister and the second-floor landing.

"Yes I should and I would were it not for finalizing the agreement. I have to let the packs in Monterey and Santa Barbara know about what is going on and I do not think that they will take to the idea of now having to answer to Von Ruben as well as I would hope. You know how Philippe and Marianne can be." Lucard shook his head as he donned the jacket and smoothed out the neatly pressed lapels.

"You sure you don't want me goin' with you? What if they try somethin'?" Lincoln asked as he went over to the writing desk and handed Lucard his keys.

"I will be perfectly capable of handling them on my own Lincoln. Right now it is Sarah who you should be concerned about." Lucard took the keys and pocketed them as Lincoln moved around him in order to open the two front doors. "Try to find out what sort of damage Von Ruben and his boys have done and remember, none of your wild acts Lincoln. I will know."

Lucard faced Lincoln for a moment as Lincoln nodded his head and looked away. There was a glint of warning in Lucard's eyes, one that made Lincoln cringe inwardly when he saw it. It was a clear warning for him to keep himself in line or else he would have a hell of a lot to answer for. Lucard wasn't going to be taking any chances with Sarah and Lincoln knew that if something went amiss, he'd be the one to get it. Beating the insolence out of Lincoln had taken years to do and Lucard had succeeded where other vampires would have failed which proved that Lucard wasn't above unleashing hell whenever the need arouse. Lincoln knew this from personal experience.

"See you in a few." Lincoln said as Lucard walked out of the house without another word. Lucard may have taken on the role as the father figure in their little "family" but Lincoln knew that the head vampire did not take mishaps and mistakes lightly.

"Right then. _Kid_! Get down here, we're leavin'!" Lincoln barked as he closed the front doors and made his way up the spiraled staircase as he headed for Sarah's room.

Getting Sarah out of the room was more of a challenge then getting her into the car. It was almost as if Lincoln was trying to pry a turtle out of its shell. Sarah kicked up a fuss when Lincoln tried to herd her out into the hallway but that was to be expected. If she had come quietly he would have known that something was up. In the end however, Lincoln had no other choice but to sling her over his shoulder and carry her out of the house. Boy did that go well. Sarah settled down in the car and the two drove for about forty minutes in silence with Sarah brooding in the passenger seat while Lincoln gave up on trying start a conversation.

Lincoln kept one eye on the road and the other on Sarah as he slowed the Chevelle and pulled off the main stretch of highway. They drove down an old side road that led to a dead end smack dab in the middle of nowhere. There wasn't another car, building or headlight around when Lincoln eased the car to a stop and let it purr for a few moments. They weren't too far from the highway but they were far enough that they would not be seen if a car drove past.

"Where are we?" Those were the first words Sarah spoke to Lincoln since her cursing streak back at the house.

"Where does it look like? The middle of nowhere." Lincoln snorted as he killed the lights and took his keys out of the ignition.

"Why? Why are we here?" Sarah asked suspiciously as she glared at Lincoln. She still hadn't gotten over what he had done the night before. "Lincoln what's going on?"

"I dunno what Dave and those boys told you but kid, you are one lousy vampire. You know that right?" Lincoln as her as he opened the door and stepped out of the car, resting his arm on the roof while he quickly checked their surroundings to make sure that they were completely and utterly alone. There wasn't so much as a rabbit for miles.

"Thanks for pointing that out, as if I didn't know already." Sarah grumbled darkly while she hugged her knees to her chest, not giving a damn if she marked the immaculate leather seat with her boots.

Lincoln's right eye twitched ever so slightly when he leaned over and stuck his head back into the car. It would be an understatement to say that Lincoln was slightly bothered by Sarah's feet being on the seat. This was his baby and truth be told he loved the damn car more than anything else in the world. No woman could ever compare to the Chevelle. _Ever_. "Yeah well you gotta face facts if you're wanna survive."

"And what if I don't want to?" Sarah snapped as she hugged her knees tighter, curling into a protective ball.

Lincoln eyed her for a moment, studying her closely. "You don't got a choice."

Sarah shook her head. "There's always a choice."

"Not in this life sweetheart." Lincoln chuckled darkly as he patted the roof of the car and closed the door. Boy, did he have his work cut out for him tonight. "C'mon out here, I got somethin' to show you." Lincoln moved around the front of the car so that Sarah could see him as he knocked on the windshield to get her attention.

Sarah scowled at him and buried her head in her arms, trying to ignore his persistent knocking.

Lincoln sighed and had to mentally remind himself not to loose his cool and rip her out of the car by her hair. Lucard had told him that it wouldn't be easy. Running his left hand through his hair he opened the passenger door and stood there, waiting. "C'mon out."

That wasn't a question but a command.

Sarah shivered at his tone but despite her better judgment, she got out of the car.

"Now the Boss wants me to show you the ropes, understand?" Lincoln explained as he closed the door and leaned against the side of the car while Sarah stood a few feet away from him, arms crossed tightly over her chest. "So I figure that you already know the basics. Right?"

Sarah nodded her head and muttered a quiet "yeah" under her breath as she began to dig at the dirt with the toe of her boot.

"Good. Judgin' from what I've seen you're one of them what we call "small fangs." Lincoln casually commented as he dug a fresh cigar out of his inner coat pocket and sniffed it, admiring the musky aroma.

"Small fangs?"

Sarah glanced at him as Lincoln grinned knowing that he now had her attention. It worked every time.

"That's right. You're a vamp who don't want to be a vamp. Am I right?" He asked her as he bit off one end of the cigar and spat it out.

"Is that such a crime?" Sarah asked him as she watched him with guarded eyes, knowing that he was playing at something but couldn't figure out what it was.

"No, it ain't. But I'll tell you this. Small fangs don't last long. Longest I heard was about a year…and that was by pure dumb luck." Lincoln withdrew his lighter from his pocket and slowly lit the cigar, puffing on it in order to get it going.

Sarah frowned. "Why…don't we survive?" Her voice was a quiet as a mouse's sneeze.

Lincoln arched an eyebrow. "Cause you're pathetic."

"I am not!" Sarah suddenly went from timid to annoyed in a blink of an eye.

Lincoln just smiled as he snapped his lighter closed and pocketed it. "Yes you are."

"Fuck off!"

Sarah shot him her fiercest glare and he choked on a cloud of cigar smoke as he tried not to laugh.

"Make me, as if you could. You guys don't last long cause you get all guilty when you gotta do the "evil deed" and you just can't live with yourself because you kill _innocent _people. So you either starve to death or you get so whiney and obnoxious that the rest of us'll just kill you so that we don't have to hear you. Small fangs are so friggin' annoyin' it ain't funny."

"Well that's good to know." Sarah kicked a cloud of dirt in his direction without thinking.

"Kid, let me tell you somethin'. Out there, the world's tiniest violin is playin' just for you and you know what? Nobody gives a damn." Lincoln pointed his cigar towards the horizon with a sweep of his arm. "Truth's a real bitch ain't it?"

"Are you done? So I'm a pathetic excuse of a vampire. I didn't ask to be this way! I didn't have a choice!" Sarah shouted at him as Lincoln's words stung her. Sarah turned to storm off in a huff only to realize there as nowhere to go. There was nothing but dirt, shrubs and rocks for as far as the eye could see.

"Neither did I but you don't see me complainin' now do you?" Lincoln said quietly as he took a long drag on his cigar and exhaled a perfect smoke ring. He kept his eye on her as he shifted against the car, looking as though he couldn't care less about what was going on.

"That's because you're…."Sarah started but then her words trailed off as she kept her back to him.

"I'm what?" He cocked his head to the side and waited, fully knowing what she was going to say.

Sarah squared her shoulders and turned around. "You're…you like being a vampire. You like killing people. You get off on being evil." She hissed the last word to emphasize the meaning.

Lincoln chewed thoughtfully on his cigar before he answered. "That don't make me Satan's Bastard, even if I do like to kill people."

Sarah shook her head as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "It's wrong! You shouldn't kill people!"

"Cause I'll go to hell?" Lincoln laughed long and hard as Sarah stood there with her mouth practically hanging open. "Open your eyes Sarah and take a good look around you. We're already in hell. The devil's got nothin' on me."

"You really like doing this to me don't you?" Sarah snapped her mouth shut as her hands instantly clenched into tight fists while Lincoln continued to chuckle to himself.

"I'm just tryin' to get you to get your head outta your ass and see things for what they really are. You try doin' that in one night and see how easy you find it. I got years of brainwashin' and bible thumpin' to knock outta you." Lincoln nodded his head as he took another drag on his cigar, clearly amused by her reaction.

"You won't change my mind." Sarah shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest once more, this time with more assurance. She gave him a self-assured look and leaned against the car as well, challenging him to even try.

"I don't have to." Lincoln shrugged as he exhaled.

"Oh really?" Sarah asked, not believing him for a second.

Lincoln rolled his eyes as he turned his head to face her. "Yes really. Here's somethin' that you won't go findin' in any high school textbook. Vampires are supposed to be soulless bloodsucking demons who are evil incarnate right?"

Sarah nodded. "Yes."

"We kill people right?"

"Yes. So?"

"Now why you suppose we kill people? Cause we got nothin' better to do?" Lincoln asked as he tapped the ashes off the end of the cigar, knowing that the question caught Sarah off-guard.

"You do it because…" Sarah was about to say "you're evil" but realization interfered before she could. Lincoln watched Sarah's expression change and waited for the right answer. He wasn't disappointed.

"…because we have to."

Sarah suddenly looked small and vulnerable as she realized the deeper meaning in what she had said. Lincoln pretended not to notice as he busied himself with the cigar. "That's right. We kill all those innocent Jesus lovin' bible kissin' folks out there because we have to. We do it cause that's how we _survive_. Predators gotta eat too so what do you think they chomp on? That's how nature works. Predator and prey, the food chain, the facts of life, all that crap."

"That doesn't justify why we have to kill people. I mean, why can't we kill animals?" Sarah was grasping at straws and they both knew it. But instead of shooting her down Lincoln decided to take the more understanding route. The kid had had her entire life taken away from her without so much as a warning and deep down Lincoln could sympathize with that. Not that he would ever outwardly admit it but in a way he kind of felt sorry for her.

"That's an honest enough question. Have you ever tried takin' a bite out of an animal?" Lincoln asked her, fielding her question with one of his own. He wasn't going to spoon feed her. She was going to have to work at getting the answers. It was the only way that she would learn.

"No…" Sarah shook her head.

"Why not?" He asked.

Sarah thought about it. "I don't know."

"Oh yes you do. You've been a vampire for what three, four weeks? Why haven't you tried drinking animal blood before Miss Guilty Conscience?" He asked her with a small smirk as he tapped off the ashes once again before he ground the end of the cigar against the palm of his hand to extinguish it.

"Because…I just…" Sarah couldn't give him a truthful answer because she really didn't know why she had never considered feeding off of animals. She had had countless opportunities to do so over the past weeks but it had never occurred to her to try.

Somehow Lincoln seemed to sense this and he said exactly what she was thinking. "They don't seem all that appetizing right? You wanna know the reason?"

"There's a reason?" Sarah gave him a puzzled look.

"Shoo, course there's a reason. There's always a reason." Lincoln snorted as he placed the cigar back into his inner coat pocket so that he could save it for later.

Sarah took a step forward, moving closer to Lincoln. "Then what is it?"

"It's our job to keep the numbers down." Lincoln told her plain and simple like.

Sarah gave him a strange look, not quite getting at what he was saying. "What?"

"H'okay. Let's see. How am I gonna explain this so that you'll understand? Right, you ever been campin' before?" Lincoln began. He wasn't exactly what you would call teacher material because the last time he had tried to explain vampire ethics 101 the fledgling had flipped out and got hit by a bus. Hence the whole reason as to why he and Sarah were standing in the middle of nowhere. There were no buses.

"Yeah, my family and I go…went every summer. Why?" Sarah quickly corrected herself when she slipped up. For her, her family no longer existed. That was another thing that David had spent days drilling into her head.

"Now someone musta told you about the animals that live in forest right?" He asked. The last thing he needed right now was to go through a whole speech about what furry critters ate who and what.

"Lincoln I may be a _small fang_ but I'm not stupid." Sarah sarcastically replied. She was sixteen, not six.

"I never said you was. So you know all about the food chain and all that crap. Now what would happen if there were no more wolves, bears, cougars, owls or any other animal that killed to survive?" He asked. He knew that she knew the answer but he had to start explaining everything from the ground up so that she would understand later on. It saved of him having to go back and repeat himself over again.

"The ecosystem would be off-balance. Duh." Sarah snorted. She suddenly felt like she was back in her sixth grade science class.

"That's right. Everythin' would be outta whack. No predators means the prey species flourish and when that happens there's nothin' there to keep the numbers down so everythin' goes straight to hell. Too many animals equals total chaos. So that means nature's gotta figure out a way to get the balance back. That's when you get your plagues, famines, droughts, disease and all that crap and then everything starts to die off. Once that happens all those cute furry little critters go sianara and the forest slowly starts fixin' itself. You got all that?" He asked her just to make sure she was with him on the same brain wave.

"Yeah. So you're saying that vampires are around to keep the human population down? Do I look like a moron to you?" Sarah snickered. Man was this guy serious?

"I dunno…are you?" Lincoln's eyebrows rose he gave her a questioning look.

"NO!" Sarah snorted and frowned.

"Then why'd you bring it up?" Lincoln asked, still playing dumb.

"Oh you are _so_ funny Lincoln. Maybe I'll laugh next time." This time it was Sarah's turn to roll her eyes.

"God you rookies are damn well hard-headed. You think you got it all figured out when you don't know shit." Lincoln shook his head and pushed away from the car. He didn't look over his shoulder and he started for the highway. With his back turned to her, Sarah couldn't see the broad grin on his face.

"Oh yeah? Okay Mr. Bigshot tell me this. Let's just say, theoretically speaking, vampires are supposed to keep human numbers in check…then why are there over 6 billion humans on the planet? Looks like you guys are doing a _swell_ job." Sarah started to follow Lincoln but then stopped. She didn't know where he was going and she didn't care. But then again she didn't want to be left alone in the middle of nowhere. Lincoln just waved and started to whistle a tune as he walked away and Sarah hesitated for a few seconds before she huffed and hurried to catch up with him. "Well?"

"Humans breed like rabbits. Do you have any idea how hard it is when the odds are six hundred thousand to one? Remember kid, humans are mammals and so are we, kinda. And like all things in life, there's always a bigger fish. Rabbit eats grass, fox eats the rabbit, bear eats the fox so on and so forth. Humans eat just about everythin' so who's gonna eat them? Us. But humans are probably the most destructive species ever to crawl outta the primordial ooze. No other creature has ever managed to cause so much destruction in so little time. One day humans are gonna destroy this planet and it's curtains for all of us." Lincoln didn't miss a beat as he continued onward while Sarah nearly tripped over her own feet as she tried keep up with his long strides.

"But that still doesn't explain why we just can't live off of the blood of cows or something." Sarah sidestepped out of the way when Lincoln stopped suddenly and turned. For a second she thought that she had said something to piss him off but his snort of laughter dispelled that thought.

"Have you ever tried cow blood? It's like drinkin' water, hardly any sustenance at all. You _could _survive off it if you had no other choice, but you'd end up weak and useless in a matter of days if you kept it up." Lincoln made a face as if the idea of cow blood left a sour taste in his mouth. He knew the effects of surviving off of livestock all too well. For a month Lucard had forced him to feed on cows and only cows as a way of breaking the insolence out of him. Needless to say that tactic worked like a charm.

"And a weak vampire is a dead vampire. Don't think for a second that other vamps won't kill you. Natural law still applies to us deadbeats. Survival of the fittest is the first commandment for us." Lincoln's devilish grin turned into a hard scowl and Sarah knew that he was being dead serious.

"No one ever told me that…" Sarah started but Lincoln waved off her excuse as if it were nothing.

"I figured. Despite what the preachers and story books tell you, vampires don't come from the fire pits of hell. We're anomalies…that's how Lucard put it. Humans started to get outta control and nature had to do somethin' to fix that so then we evolved. New top predator to keep things in balance. Same goes for werewolves, even if they are half-brained fuckers." Lincoln horked up a wad of spit and spat off to the side. He liked werewolves even less than he liked Max and he loathed the guy.

Sarah chose to ignore his lack of manners as she tried to get her head around what Lincoln had implied. "Wait. So vampires are…supposed to be here?"

"That's right. Welcome to the conversation." Lincoln reached over and clapped her on the shoulder but Sarah slipped under his fingers and stepped away.

"That doesn't make any stupid sense!" She scowled.

Lincoln's eyebrows rose in question. "It don't?"

"No! Everyone knows that vampires are…" Sarah snorted. Lincoln stepped forward and placed his hand over her mouth to shut her up for a second before she could start ranting about evil this and damned that.

"Evil fiends from hell?" Lincoln said as he wagged a finger in her direction, ignoring the look she gave him. "Yeah that's what the Europeans said about the wolves in the Middle Ages and look what happened to them. Got wiped out clear across the continent. And why? Cause humans are a prey species. They fear things that are stronger than them and that they can't understand. Just like a rabbit is damn well afraid of a dog. So human's bein' the only thing on the planet with religion, they get together and decide that "Hey! Wolves have the power to kill us. They must be evil. Kill them all!" And that's what they did. Same thing goes for us. They write books about us, always get the facts wrong and since stories about us have been around for centuries everyone believes that we're just plain evil. Always gotta destroy what they don't understand. I swear religious beliefs are the worst thing to come from humans."

Sarah yanked his hand away from her face. "Why do you say that?"

"Religion always leads to war. Don't matter what kind it is, there has been a war for every one of them." Lincoln said matter-of-factly as he scratched his chin.

"What?" Sarah gave him a calculating stare. Her family had been very religious. Her uncle was a bishop hence the reason why the Catholic Church had played such a major role in her upbringing. However, she didn't know what Lincoln was talking about. What wars? When?

Lincoln could practically see the wheels turning in Sarah's head. He shook his own as he draped an arm over Sarah's shoulders and explained. "One word: Crusades. Pointless. Killed hundreds of thousands and for what? Just cause one guy said that his god is better than the other guy's god. Ain't that a sorry excuse for a mass murder. But if you think about it…it don't really matter cause from their point of view god is god, the end all be all Big Gahuna. And I'm getting' all philosophical now. I'll tell ya this though, man is just as bad as we are."

"You're just feeding me a story Lincoln." Sarah muttered as she hugged her arms around herself while Lincoln chucked her under her chin with the back of his hand.

"Like hell I am. We _feed_ to survive. Humans _kill_ for the pleasure." He pointed out, emphasizing the difference between the two. That was the key to the whole idea. Vampires don't kill humans mindlessly; they kill to eat whereas humans kill each other for the hell of it. See the difference?

"That's not true."

"Oh it ain't? Sarah, who created the sword? Who created the gun? Who created the nuke? Man, not us _evil nasty_ vampires, but man. We got our fangs and the instincts that good ol' Mother Nature gave us and that's good enough for us. Yet for some reason men just gotta bomb the hell outta each other. Humans kill more humans then all the vampires on this stinking piece of rock combined. Did you know that? And they're just doin' it for the hell of it. Damn waste. The thing that kills me is that it only takes one nuke to wipe every little spec clean outta existence and that kind of power is held in the hands of a species that can't stop killing itself. I fuckin' hate irony."

The two stood in silence for a moment while the truth of Lincoln's words sunk in.

"But what about us? Don't tell me that we don't kill for pleasure. I know we do. I've got eyes, I've seen it happen." Sarah looked up at Lincoln's face so that she could read it. Was this just some giant lie that was being said to get her to play along or was Lincoln telling the truth? And if he was, then how did he account for the sheer brutality that she had witnessed over the weeks?

Lincoln looked down and met her gaze as he gave her shoulders a squeeze. "Hey, we ain't saints. We do what we gotta do cause we have to and yes sometimes we can go to town. That's just who and what we are. We were human once, we still got that wasteful streak in us. Some of us can control it real good like Lucard, others well…we ain't so strong willed. But the thing is we know when we go too far. If we don't then others do and they make damn sure that we know. Those that really go overboard never make that mistake again."

"Like you?" The words literally jumped out of Sarah's mouth as if they had a mind of their own. Sarah froze, fearful that she had stepped out of line. When she was with David and the others, she knew better than to accuse or challenge them in any way and if she did, she'd get into trouble. She didn't know if Lincoln would react in the same manner.

Lincoln felt her tense under his arm and instead of being pissed, he found it entertaining. "What about me?"

"Somehow you don't strike me as the type that would be satisfied with the basics." Sarah carefully worded her response so that she didn't blurt out something along the lines of Lincoln being a glutton for blood and slaughter.

"How you figure that?" Lincoln mused.

Sarah shrugged slightly. "You're like David and I've seen David hunt. You guys always want more. Even if you don't get it, you still want it."

"Well it looks like you do have eyes in that pretty head of yours after all." Lincoln chuckled and messed up her hair with an affectionate noogie, which was something that Sarah did not find amusing and Lincoln knew it.

"I kind of figured that about sixteen years ago thanks." Sarah grumbled as she tried to jab Lincoln in the gut with her elbow. Like a seasoned dancer, Lincoln swerved out of the way and pranced back a few steps as his trademark jackal grin of his made an appearance.

"Snarky aren't you? God Dave musta had one hell of a field day with you." He crossed his arms and grinned away as he pictured David tearing out his hair in frustration over Sarah's stubborn and blunt attitude. Ah, happy thoughts.

However such thoughts weren't exactly happy in Sarah's case. "I hope I gave him migraines."

"Oh really?" Lincoln asked curiously, sensing that there was more to the story than just headaches.

"Forget him. So if I'm such a bleeding heart like you say I am…then what? I just up and die? I'm tired of hearing that," Sarah started to open up and give voice to what was on her mind, "I didn't want this and now I'm stuck this way and all I ever get from anyone is them wondering how long it will be before I croak. I'm sick of it!

"You are, are you?" Lincoln's expression was well controlled as he prodded her in the direction that he wanted her to go. He had finally gotten through some of her defenses and since she was a bit more comfortable around him now was his chance to find out exactly what was going on in that head of hers.

"Yes I am!" Sarah snapped with such venom that Lincoln was surprised by it.

"Why? It's the truth ain't it?" He asked, waiting to see what her reaction would be.

"No!" Again, another snarled response.

"It's not?" He were close to making a breakthrough, Lincoln could feel it.

"**No** it's _not!_ I don't want to be part of the fang gang but I don't want to die either. I'm sick of everyone underestimating me." Sarah huffed as she shuffled from one foot to the other.

"Then what are you gonna do about it?" Lincoln asked calmly.

"I…I…" Sarah's mouth opened and closed a few times as she tried to say something but nothing came out. It had been weeks since she was able to speak so freely about what was bothering her to someone who would actually listen that now that she had the chance, she didn't know what to say.

"You dunno."

The answer was simple and straightforward. Most importantly, it was the truth.

"No. I don't have a damn clue about what I'm supposed to do." Sarah blinked sharply as the walls she had built to protect herself started to fall. She tried to keep her facial expressions under control but Lincoln's answer seemed to trigger something deep inside of her, something that she had been avoiding ever since she was thrown into this nightmare. She didn't know what she was going to do. She didn't have a friggin clue and that was the thought that scared her more than anything else. She was completely helpless and they both knew it.

"I don't know…they never told me…I don't…I…," Sarah sniffed hard as she quickly turned away so that Lincoln wouldn't see the tears well up in her eyes. "What am I going to do?"

Lincoln glanced at his feet as he figured out his next move. Well he had managed to get through her defenses and gained her trust but he was never good with the whole comforting thing. That was more Lucard's area of expertise. Damn.

"Well that's why I'm here. Dave may think he's the shit, but that guy has flaws just like the rest of us and one of them is intolerance. Can't stand repeatin' himself and hates it when things don't go his way." Lincoln chuckled as he tried to lighten the mood with a bit of humor.

"Got that right." Sarah sniffed as she quickly wiped the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand.

"So I'm guessin' he wasn't grade A teacher material. And I know for a fact that them other boys wouldn't have given you the time of day. Am I right?" Lincoln continued as Sarah got her emotions under wraps.

"They couldn't stand looking at me." She said thickly as she began to fiddle nervously with some of the hand stitched beading on the cuff of her jacket.

"Well, unlike those clowns, I don't got that problem. Sure you're a pain in the ass, but hell so am I. That's why I'm gonna show you what bein' a vampire is all about. Like I said, I gotta knock all that crap you've been fed for years outta you, so I say we start now. If you don't want to, fine, but I sure as hell won't be the one to tell the boss that another one of you girls has decided to go martyr." Lincoln said as he rubbed the back of his neck. He had her on the line and now it was time to reel her in.

"Is that what happened to the others? The ones that Max traded?" Sarah asked as she turned around and looked at him with wide eyes.

Lincoln nodded as he dropped his arm and shoved his hand into his jean pocket. "Yeah. Some didn't make it this far and the others…Let's just say things didn't work out as expected. Small fangs have the bad habit of goin' nuts or suicidal. Like I said, they decided to go the martyr route. Lotta good that did 'em."

"So Lucard didn't kill them?"

"Kill 'em? Hell no. What gave you that idea?" Lincoln gave her a strange look. Where the hell did she come up with that one?

"I don't know. I just thought that if he was like Max…" Sarah murmured as she gave an embarrassed shrug.

The moment Lincoln heard the comparison he quickly jumped to Lucard's defense.

"Whoa, _whoa_, hang on there a sec now. Lucard is nothin' like that shit suckin' vampire. Sure he's got a mean streak in him but that's cause just about ever green-horn son-of-a-bitch vampire is out to get him. I'll say this for the old coot. That there's one vampire that gives a damn. Gave enough of one about me to beat the stupidity outta me. Just about any other Head Vampire woulda ripped my head off without thinkin' twice rather than give me a second chance. I sure was a bad seed when I was turned. Still am mind you, but I'm not as stupid as I was." Lincoln growled as he ran both hands roughly through his hair, making it stick out at every angle.

"Really? I mean about the giving a damn part not the you being stupid part." Sarah was surprised at how loyal Lincoln seemed to be towards Lucard. David and the others hated Max like nobody's business and she had thought that it would be the same with Lincoln.

Lincoln nodded solemnly. "Yep. Old Lucard gives a rat's ass about me and you. That's why we're standin' here."

"Oh. So now what?" Sarah asked after a moment.

"Well are you done feelin' sorry for yourself and ready to start learnin' the hows and whys?" Lincoln tilted his head and frowned slightly.

Sarah looked down at her feet and kicked a small stone out of her way as she shrugged. "It's not like I have much of a choice."

"Hey, you said there was a choice, not me. It's your call sister."

Ah, the magic word. He had finally said it. Well it was the truth. If Sarah chose to get her act together and smartened up a bit, she and Lincoln were going to be the vampiric equivalent of siblings. Sarah gave him a sharp look as if she didn't quite catch what he said. The corner of Lincoln's mouth twitched upward as he nodded his head. She had heard him right.

She quickly thought about her options and since she didn't want to die a second time, she really only had one choice to make. "I guess."

Lincoln grinned his toothy grin once more. Lucard would be proud. It looked like those chess lessons were finally starting to pay off. By subtly guiding Sarah in the direction that he wanted her to go in order to get her to open up to him, Lincoln had managed a breakthrough without force, bloodshed or either of them freaking out and getting hit by a bus.

"_This round goes to me. Man, am I good or what?_" Lincoln thought to himself as he chuckled quietly. He didn't dwell on it as he turned around and headed back towards the car with Sarah trailing after him. It was time to get to work.

"Right then. Let's get to it. First thing you gotta learn is how to kill. It's the hardest part and once you got that down, it's all downhill."

Sarah slowed to a stop, suddenly looking uncomfortable. When he reached the car Lincoln realized that she wasn't following him. He turned around but Sarah wouldn't meet his gaze.

"About that Lincoln…I'm not a killer…"

"Sure you are. You'd be dead by now if you weren't." Lincoln pointed out as he took his keys out of his back pocket.

Sarah rolled her eyes as she nervously gnawed her lower lip. "Yeah but I can't _kill_ people."

That statement made Lincoln pause for a moment.

"Lemme guess. David and those idiots kept forcin' you, didn't they?" He asked. When Sarah nodded he groaned and smacked his hand against the trunk of the car. "Great. Ain't that just _beautiful_."

Sarah shrunk back a bit but before she could retreat into her protective shell Lincoln quickly changed his tone. It would do him no good if she closed up on him now because then all of his work would have been for nothing.

"Alright," Lincoln sighed as he glanced down at his car keys, "well we're just gonna have to work that out later. Forcin' a vamp to feed is probably the worst thing you could do. The vamp learns off the bat to fight against what should naturally happen and then you get a whole shit load of problems down the road. So, you've never killed anyone on your own?"

Sarah quickly shook her head. "Not without being pressured to."

"Well that's about to change." Lincoln told her as he unlocked the trunk and opened it. "See this? We'll consider this to be your first."

Lincoln motioned to the teenaged girl that was curled up in a fetal position. She was gagged and bound hand and foot with duck tape. When the trunk was opened the girl blinked feebly as if she had just become conscious. When her eyes landed on Lincoln they widened and a second later she was screaming behind the gag and began to struggle. Her panicked efforts did nothing but amuse Lincoln.

Sarah blanched when she saw what was lying in the trunk. And Lincoln's sadistic smile didn't help either. "You can't be serious. Lincoln she's my age!"

"Yeah so?" Lincoln shrugged as he reached into the trunk as if to grab the girl. She screamed and shrank away from his hand which caused him to cackle gleefully.

"Bad idea, very bad idea. I can't!" Sarah felt as if she were about to puke. She couldn't stand him tormenting the girl, even if she was no better than he was.

"Keep thinkin' that way and you're gonna end up dead a whole lot faster than you think." Lincoln reminded Sarah as he wrapped the fingers of his left hand around the girl's long hair, basking in the scent of the girl's fear.

"But…" Sarah pleaded but Lincoln cut her off.

"No buts Sarah. Remember what I told you. We kill to survive. Instead of steaks we live off blood. You gotta get used to it. And before you start gettin' any wild ideas in your head, there is no such thing as a vegetarian vampire. There's only blood drinkers or none at all. What's it gonna be." He asked as he viciously yanked some of the girl's hair out and blew the silky strands into the air.

Sarah eyed the drifting hair with a queasy feeling in her stomach. "Couldn't you have gotten someone…older?"

"Sarah you gotta learn how to hunt. The younger they are, the louder they scream. And they're fast which is exactly what you need." Lincoln explained casually, none of this bothering him in the least bit. He grabbed the girl by her bound wrists and ankles and hoisted her out of the trunk as easy as picking up a grocery bag. Sarah took a few steps back as Lincoln walked forward and dropped the girl away from the car. The last thing he wanted was to get blood on the Chevelle's paint job. "So right now we're gonna cover the basics. When you get them down, then we can do some real hunting."

"What are the basics? I bite her and she dies right?" Sarah's eyes were glued onto the girl as she wriggled onto her stomach and tried to inch away from them like some sort of over-sized inch worm.

"No. You gotta learn how to be a vampire. That means learin' how to accept yourself and you gotta want it. If you don't, you don't need me to explain the rest." Lincoln lifted his foot and flipped the girl back onto her back before he placed the heel of his boot against her throat, pinning her to the ground.

"Right." Sarah swallowed hard as she looked from the girl, to Lincoln and back again. She only had one choice to make and now was the time to make it. There would be no going back once she did. Sarah inhaled deeply and slowly nodded her head. She wasn't going fade and die like the others. She wanted to live. She was going to survive.

Lincoln smiled once he saw the resolution on Sarah's face. Maybe Lucard would give him a bonus in his paycheck for this. He ran his tongue over his fangs as he quickly shifted into his vampiric visage and took his foot off of the girl's neck. Bending over he grabbed the girl by her arm and half-lifted her off the ground before he chomped on her upper arm to the bone. Even though she was gagged, the girl's screams were still loud and Lincoln's choice of location became pretty obvious. In the middle of nowhere no one was going to be able to hear the screams. It was a perfect killing ground.

The painful squeals made Sarah wince, but that was out of habit. Sarah knew that she should have associated the sounds with something bad but for once she didn't feel apprehensive or guilty. Instead…Sarah felt invigorated. The screams weren't a bad sound, but a good one.

Lincoln withdrew and released the girl. He hadn't taken much, his bite was meant to wound her not severely injure her. This was Sarah's kill but Lincoln knew that she was going to need some help getting started.

"What are you doing?" Sarah asked as Lincoln stepped over the girl and headed towards her. Smeared with blood the jackal grin was as dangerous as ever. Sarah felt a twinge of something alien inside her as she backed away from Lincoln. Every step she took, Lincoln mimicked.

"You gotta want it." His voice was as rough as the purr of the Chevelle's LS6 engine. It wasn't his normal voice. It was something else, something much more enticing.

"Okay now you're scaring me." Sarah said as she swallowed hard. She stood still when she heard the change in Lincoln's voice. She wasn't scared as she probably should have been. Maybe it was the smell of freshly spilled blood or maybe it was the bright glint in Lincoln's eyes but whatever it was Sarah's curiosity was aroused.

"Am I?" Lincoln purred as he came closer and closer, expertly herding Sarah back to the car without her realizing it.

"I mean it Lincoln, back off. I'm not joking." Sarah shook her head and moved back when Lincoln came too close. The smell of the blood on him was intoxicating and made her feel lightheaded. She had never gotten high in her life but she highly doubted that smoking pot and drinking blood didn't give off the same sort of euphoric feeling she was feeling right then.

"Make me." Lincoln's voice grated even lower and Sarah jumped slightly as if she had received an electric shock.

"Lincoln, stop it!" She hissed as she backpedaled away from him.

Like some big cat that had cornered its next meal, Lincoln crouched slightly and sprang forward. He planted his hands on the side of his car, trapping Sarah between his arms and he used his body to pin Sarah against the car door, blocking off any escape.

Sarah was suddenly motionless; her brain wrapped in a cloud of fog as her eyes locked onto Lincoln's bloodied mouth. She tried to look away but she couldn't stop eyeing the blood. It was as if Lincoln's grin had her hypnotized.

"Lincoln let me go…." Sarah squeaked.

"_Make me_." Lincoln's mouth hadn't moved to form the words and it took Sarah a few seconds to realize that she had heard his voice in her head.

Lincoln growled deep within his chest as he lowered his face to hers, stopping an inch away from brushing her lips with his own. It wasn't a threatening move, it was a seductive one. He knew he had her, the glazed look in her eyes told him that much. Now he was just playing with her.

Before she even realized what she was doing Sarah began to lick the blood off Lincoln's face. Lincoln closed his eyes slightly as Sarah nuzzled him, her tongue running across his chin and the corners of his mouth like a hungry pup and after a moment he lowered his arms and pulled away from Sarah. Sarah's eyes flashed orange as she moved with him and latched onto his jacket, refusing to let go. Lincoln growled as he tried to yank Sarah off of him but instead of stepping back Sarah just growled back and pawed at him for more.

Lincoln waited another moment before he ripped himself out of her grasp, laughing. "You gotta want it bad."

The pupils of Sarah's eyes shifted as she growled in annoyance even though she was not in full fang. She trailed after Lincoln as he moved quickly to unclasp his bowie knife and go over to the girl. She was screaming hysterically at this point, the scent of her fear filling the night air like a heavy perfume. Drunk of the smell and the sound Sarah mewled with longing and tried to reach the girl but Lincoln spun around and shoved her away with a warning growl. Well that wasn't very nice.

Sarah arched her back and hissed at him, her fangs bared in challenge. Like most female vampires Sarah's face wasn't as chiseled and rigid as Lincoln's or David's and her fangs were nowhere near as long as theirs. Her vampiric face gave her the feral appearance of a wildcat whereas Lincoln's sharp cheek bones and angled forehead made him look almost canine.

Lincoln moved like lightning as he quickly cuts the girls' bonds with his large knife and ripped the gag off her mouth. He let out a sharp snarl and snapped at her face to get her moving as she lay on the ground, rigid with fear. The girl's survival instincts kicked in and she let out a blood curdling scream that echoed around them. Lincoln had to leap in front of Sarah and fought to hold her back as the girl staggered to her feet and took off in a dead sprint towards the highway.

"You want it?" Lincoln growled as Sarah clawed at his face in her frantic attempt to chase after the girl.

"Mine!" Sarah screeched as she tried to climb over Lincoln like a pissed off cat.

"You want it?" Lincoln growled louder this time and spun around so that he wouldn't get knocked over as Sarah kicked and scratched as she fought to break his grip.

"It's mine…mine!" Sarah tried to peer over his shoulders to see where the girl was as she wriggled and squirmed, her nose locked on the smell of the girl's blood.

Lincoln waited a few more seconds in order to give the teen a decent head-start before he shoved Sarah in her direction and moved back a few feet.

"Go get it!"

Sarah didn't need to be told twice. She hit the ground running and like a hound on a scent she ate up the distance in a matter of moments. Begin a novice at hunting Sarah had no mastery of the stealth approach and she made a huge racket as she closed in on the girl, snarling and growling loud enough to wake the dead. Hearing this, the girl made the mistake of looking behind her to see who was following her and when she saw Sarah charging towards her she shrieked and tried to run faster. The highway was close by now and in a few seconds she would reach it. But her time ran out two seconds too early.

Moving purely in instinct Sarah sped up and lunged, claws aiming to hook the girl from behind. However Sarah miscalculated the distance and missed by a few inches. Sensing her end the girl put everything she had into a desperate burst of speed as if reaching the highway would somehow save her but Sarah didn't let her have that chance. Learning from her mistake, Sarah came at the girl on an angle and when she got within striking distance she tensed and sprang into the air like a cat. She landed on the girl from behind and brought her down as she latched onto the girl's uninjured arm with her teeth and locked her claws into the skin around her shoulder blades. The blow merely winded the girl instead of breaking her spine and as Sarah tore at her arm, the girl fought back. The two rolled around on the ground, kicking up dirt and pebbles as Sarah tried to maintain the top position while the girl did everything in her power to get Sarah off of her.

Feeding on unconscious humans was one thing but trying to kill something that moved and kicked was proving to be a little more difficult than Sarah had originally thought. Every time she went for the throat she ended up missing and biting the girl's shoulders, arms or hands. Frustrated Sarah began to tear at anything she could reach and soon blood seeped from dozens of bites that literally covered the girl's body.

Lincoln appeared beside Sarah and the annoyed vampire snapped at him, guarding her prey. Moving faster than Sarah could follow Lincoln quickly moved in and slashed the girl's throat with his knife before he darted back out of reach. Sarah snarled dangerously as her fiery eyes glared at him for a moment but the torn jugular vein quickly caught her attention and she dug in ravenously.

Lincoln just stood off to the side and laughed as Sarah became a little too enthusiastic and accidentally bit the girl's head off. A great spurt of blood sprayed Sarah in the face and she yelped in surprised as she suddenly became blinded by all the blood.

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" Lincoln crowed as Sarah rolled off the decapitated body and shook her head like a dog, flecks of blood going every which way. Covered practically from head to toe in blood, Sarah looked like something out of a Freddie Krueger flick but to Lincoln she looked positively cute.

"Oh my god. Is it always like this?" Sarah asked as she rubbed her eyes in an attempt to get the excess blood out of them.

"Oh yeah." Lincoln took a tattered blue bandana out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her so that she could clean herself up somewhat. Once she had managed to clear her vision she went to work on her face and soon the blue bandana was soaked.

"C'mere you." Lincoln snickered as he suddenly grabbed Sarah in a headlock and gave her a world-class noogie despite her outraged protests.

"Hey!" Sarah squawked as she jabbed Lincoln behind the knee and they both went down laughing. Caught up in the moment, the two tussled on the ground in a playful mock fight with Sarah getting in a few good shots before Lincoln ended up winning the round.

Trapped in Lincoln's arms Sarah sneezed as she burrowed into his jacket, whatever past apprehensions or grudges she had towards him now a thing of the past. She didn't know why but Sarah was no longer afraid of Lincoln or of being a vampire. There was no one there to judge her or throw a bible at her while screaming damnation and being around Lincoln was different then being around the boys. David and the others hadn't wanted anything to do with her while Lincoln seemed at ease with filling in the position of an older brother. Funny how vampires could be so similar and yet so different.

Lincoln nuzzled the side of Sarah's neck and licked off a smear of blood that she had missed. Sarah giggled as the scratchy stubble on his jaw brushed against her cheek and she playfully nipped his chin as he grinned and traced his fangs along the hollow of her throat.

"More Lincoln. Please?" Sarah squirmed slightly so that she could turn around and look him straight in the eye. She gave him her best "pity kitty" look and he just couldn't say no to that face. A fully-fledged vampire covered in blood with big innocent eyes, if he hadn't been one as well he would have been scarred for life.

"You're gonna have to work for it then cause I ain't spoon-feedin' you." He replied before he tried to get up but Sarah had other ideas. With the teen's blood buzzing through her head, chasing out all the if's and why's, Sarah didn't dwell on the situation like she would have. Instead she did whatever she felt like now that fear and guilt were out of the picture.

"Aw, come on." Sarah pouted and batted her eyes.

"Girl I gotta be able to stand." Lincoln arched an eyebrow when Sarah refused to move off his legs. She grinned and shook her head, staying where she was. He snorted and pushed her off of him and when he got to his feet Sarah pounced from behind and locked her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Giddy up." She laughed and blew a wet raspberry on the back of his neck.

"Oh no you don't." Lincoln craned his neck to the side so that he could give her a look but Sarah just smiled and nipped the tip of his nose. "Git off me you little nut."

Sarah squealed when Lincoln spun around on his heels, twirling in a tight circle as he pried her arms from around his neck and bucked. Sarah shot head over heels right over his head and landed on her butt in front of him, mirroring his grin with one of her own.

"That'll teach you to jump me from behind." He said as he prodded her side with the toe of his boot.

"Ya think so?" Sarah asked as she rolled her eyes and vanished.

"Hey!" Lincoln blinked and quickly looked around to see where she had run off to. When he heard the tinkling of car keys he nearly jumped out of his skin. Sarah shook with laughter at the sight of his frantic expression as he quickly felt up his pockets to make sure that he wasn't seeing things. "You give those back!"

Sarah stuck her tongue out at him as she twirled his car keys on her forefinger, looking as smug as the cat that ate the canary. Lincoln scowled slightly as he held out his hand and beckoned her to toss him his keys but instead of doing what he insisted Sarah held out her other hand to show him what else she had swiped without him knowing.

"Jesus H Christ you are a real piece of work." Lincoln shook his head, impressed. He looked down at his belt and saw that the Bowie sheath was empty. The kid had managed to flitch two important items right off of him without him feeling a thing. Why did he get the feeling that she was more than just natural at it? That was going to be something that he'd purposely forget to tell Lucard, well for the time being anyways.

Sarah tossed him his keys as he started forward but toyed with the knife until he plucked it out of her hands.

"Where'd you get such a big knife?" She asked him as she watched him sheath it and buckle the hilt in place.

"How'd you learn how to steal like that?" He asked her, avoiding her question.

Sarah shrugged nonchalantly. "From a friend, not too long ago."

"A friend huh? And who is this friend…" Lincoln started but the sudden gleam of bright headlights coming down the highway caught both of their attention instantaneously. They were close enough to the highway that they could easily make out the model and license plate number of the car and if they could see that they were pretty certain that whoever was driving the car would be able to see them.

"You up for the main course?" Lincoln asked as he looked over at Sarah. Her bared fangs told him the answer. "Right, stay here for a second. Don't move until I signal you, got that? Stay. Whoa!"

Lincoln barely managed to get his hand around her wrist as she darted past him, heading for the highway despite what he had just told her. "You are gonna be trouble, I can feel it."

"I am?" Sarah asked him as she kept her eyes on the car as it drew closer.

"I knew you'd take after me." Lincoln mused as he dragged her away from the highway so that they wouldn't be seen.

"What time did you tell the Patterson's we would arrive at?" The woman sitting in the passenger seat asked as she checked her make-up in a hand-held mirror as her husband drove the car while fiddling with the radio dials.

"I said we'd be there by 11. It's only 10:30, we've got plenty of time." Hank replied as he finally found a station that he liked.

"I wonder if Linda has had the baby yet. They never said anything on the phone. Oh my…_LOOK OUT!_"

It came out of nowhere. One minute the road was empty and then the next instant a bloodied figure was standing directly in the car's path, grossly illuminated by the car's headlights. At the sound of his wife's frantic shout of warning, Hank stomped on the breaks and the sedan fishtailed slightly as he fought to keep it from rolling off the highway.

**Thud!**

The steering wheel shuddered as the figure disappeared underneath the car. Hank swore something awful as he brought the car to a complete stop, not daring to look in the rearview mirror to see if what he had hit was lying on the asphalt.

"Oh lord what was that!" Helen shrieked, completely shaken by the incident. Her hands were shaking so hard that the compact mirror she was holding fell out of her hands.

Hank breathed in deeply and let it out slowly. He wasn't going to panic. "I don't know."

"We just hit someone. Oh my god Hank we just killed someone!" Helen sobbed as she twisted in her seat, the taunt seatbelt keeping her in place as she tried to look out of the rear window of the car.

"Helen calm down!" Hank snapped as he glanced at the side mirror and didn't see anything lying in the middle of the road. Whatever they had hit must still be under the car. Oh god.

"Calm down? You want me to calm down!" Helen shrieked as she clawed at the seatbelt buckle in an attempt to free herself. "We've just killed a person and you want me to be calm!"

_Wham!_

This time it was Hank who screamed.

Crouched on the hood of the car like some sort of grotesque cat Sarah let the married couple get a good look at her before she bared her teeth and snarled. The harmony of terror sounded like sweet music as Helen and Hank both grabbed the steering wheel at the same time. Sarah threw herself at the windshield shoulder first and the grass cracked on impact. Helen screamed to the high heavens as the busted glass quickly gave way and rained down on her like glittering rain, but her voice was quickly silence as Sarah lunged forward and clamped her jaws around the woman's throat while she slashed through the seatbelt with a quick swipe of her sharp nails.

"Helen!" Hank was too shocked to move as he watched whatever it was that had his wife drag her out through the broken windshield head first. He barely reacted when the driver side door was yanked open and a large hand shot out and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

Hank let out a gurgle of protest as Lincoln's face loomed over his but he didn't last long enough to do much else. With a quick flick of his teeth, Lincoln ripped out the man's throat and guzzled the blood down as if it were beer.

"Not bad." Lincoln belched when he had drained the man dry. "'Scuse me."

Lincoln dropped Hank's body and left it half in and out of the car as he moved around the open door to see how Sarah was faring. Helen still had her head attached to her body but the same couldn't be said for a few of her limbs.

"Sarah let her go, she's dead." Lincoln sniffed as he ran the back of his hand across his mouth. Sarah growled as she gnawed on Helen's left hand and spat out a thin golden wedding band along with the finger that it was attached to. She went back to ignoring Lincoln as she busied herself with the remaining leg that was still intact.

"Enough already." Lincoln muttered as he picked his way over to Sarah and tried to haul her off the body. Sarah growled again as she tore into the knee joint, refusing to let go. "Now don't be like that."

Lincoln clamped one hand on the back of Sarah's neck and used the other to pry the leg out of her mouth. It was almost like taking a bone away from a dog. Sarah snapped at his hand but Lincoln was quicker and he tossed the leg off to the side of the road while dragging Sarah towards the still-running car, making sure to keep her back in front of him.

It came on quickly and Lincoln was standing safely on the other side of the road when Sarah snapped. First came the shaking and then the primal roar that always preceded an out-of-control blood rush. Lincoln couldn't do anything about it until Sarah got it out of her system so he just stood off to the side, out of range, and watched Sarah take it out on the only thing that was within striking distance.

The four-door sedan was reduced to scrap metal in a matter of minutes as Sarah ripped, tore, wrenched and dented every inch of metal she could get her hands on. Her claws left inch-wide grooves along the sides of the car and when she no longer couldn't tear it up Sarah grabbed what was left of the car's body frame and hauled it off the road with a final snarl.

"You alright?" Lincoln called out when he had deemed that it was finally safe to do so.

"What…what was that?" Sarah called back as she staggered back onto the highway, completely drained and exhausted. She was human looking once more and whatever malicious energy had possessed her before was now gone leaving her to feel the after affects of her actions.

Everything seemed to spin around her and Sarah sunk to the ground as she stared blankly at the discarded leg that Lincoln had tossed onto the roadside.

"It's called a blood rush. It's what happens when you whip yourself up into a feeding frenzy. Since you don't know how to control it yet the blood went straight to your head and you lost control. Don't worry it happens to the best of us in the beginning." Lincoln explained as he walked over to her, stepping right over Helen's limbless torso.

Sarah continued to stare at the leg as she wiped her mouth on the cuff of her jacket sleeve, leaving a red smear on the dark purple ribbon that was stitched along it. "It felt, it felt like nothing I've ever felt before."

"And this is just the beginnin'." Lincoln chuckled as he eyed Sarah's handiwork. Not bad. Not bad at all.

"Show me." Sarah turned her focus onto Lincoln as he stood behind her, cracking his knuckles one finger at a time.

"Will do. First we gotta get rid of the bodies. God girl you look like got more blood on you than in you." Lincoln pointed out as he held out his hand and helped Sarah to her feet. She swayed slightly and staggered back a few steps as the world suddenly went a bit funny but Lincoln held on until she reclaimed her sense of balance.

"The car…did I really do that?" Sarah pointed at the car that sat like a discarded skeleton that had been left out for the buzzards to pick at.

"Oh yeah. You'd be surprised what we can do when we let loose. That's nothin' believe me. Here, look at me." Lincoln gently grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him as he quickly checked her eyes to make sure she was focused. "You're alright kid. Looks like you'll make one hell of a hell raiser yet. The boss is gonna love this."

Sarah tried to smile yet she couldn't help but stare at the limp arm that was lying nearby. Reality fought to catch up with her and if it hadn't been for Lincoln standing there, Sarah might have done something incredibly stupid…like freak out completely for starters.

"Whoa, easy there now kid. You did good. We gotta do what we have to. Kill or be killed. C'mon, calm down." Lincoln murmured as he hugged Sarah to him while she hyperventilated against his chest. "Take it easy now."

"Then why do I feel so bad?" Sarah whispered as she burrowed deeper into his jacket, trying to block out the image of the mangled arm that was a few feet away from her.

"That's the human side talkin'. It gets easier, trust me." Lincoln awkwardly patted her on the head. He wasn't used to being all sympathetic or understanding. Lucard had warned him that he was going to have to change a few of his ways now that Sarah was going to be part of the family so he guessed at this was one of those things.

"You promise?" Sarah's voice was small, nothing at all like how she sounded about two minutes ago.

"Wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it." Lincoln murmured as he rested his chin on the top of her head, giving her a reassuring squeeze that seemed to do the trick.

"Please don't leave me alone," Sarah whispered when the emotional surge ebbed away, leaving behind a few lingering feelings of regret and helplessness, "I can't stand being left alone."

Lincoln's eyebrows shot up when she wrapped her arms around his chest and hugged him tightly. A few hours before she couldn't stand to look at him and now she was seeking his affection as if they had been life-long siblings. He wondered how such a change could take place in such a short time-span and it puzzled him until he realized that the answer was staring him in the face. Sarah craved attention. For the past few weeks that she had been with David and his gang, she had been isolated and practically ostracized from everything they did. There hadn't been any mutual bonding that would have normally taken place because the boys knew she wouldn't be with them long. Everything they did with her was done because Max ordered it and to them Sarah had been nothing more than a chore.

But now things were different. Lincoln wasn't shunning her and pushing her away as David had. He had taken the time to explain things and that simple action meant more to the kid then anything else he could have done. He was giving her the attention she wanted and she jumped at the chance to claim it.

"Hey, I'm right here." Lincoln said quietly as he allowed her to keep hugging him. Her sudden affection didn't seem to bother him as he thought it would. He wasn't a touchy feely kind of guy but deep down there was a part of him that missed this kind of thing. "Don't you worry none, I ain't goin' nowhere."

Lincoln thought for a moment as he glanced around at royal mess that they had created. Lucard was right to say that Sarah was going to make it. Lincoln could see it now. Well then if Sarah was going to be his full-time younger sister, she was going to be his responsibility. He now had one more to worry about and watch over during the daylight hours.

Accepting this decision, Lincoln lowered his head and acted swiftly before Sarah had a chance to react. He tried to make it as painless as possible as he pierced her throat took what he needed. Sarah stiffened against him but didn't fight as he drank from her. It was almost as if she knew that he wouldn't hurt her. Her intuition proved true when he raised his head and lowered the collar of his leather jacket, offering her his throat. She didn't think twice as her fangs instantly lengthened and she had to stand on tip-toe in order to reach his neck.

"_Now I'll be able to figure out what goes on in that little mind of yours."_ Lincoln's voice murmured as clear as a bell in her mind as she fed from him. "_I'll be able to find you no matter where you run off to and if you need me, all ya have to do is think it and I'll be there."_

"_Thank you."_ Sarah mentally replied as she licked the wound clean and sighed. It was a dream, it had to be. Amidst the carnage of their feeding-frenzy along the empty stretch of highway, Sarah finally felt accepted and safe.


	12. Tory takes a stand

**Heyo Sportsfans!**

**I'm going to make this short and sweet. Everyone give a mighty Happy Birthday to the one and only Mommajon, the Ass-kicker of Vampires! This is for her, woot woot!**

**Happy Reading**

* * *

"DAVID!"

Marko skidded to a stop at the very edge of the wooden stairway, unaffected by the sheer 200 foot drop that stretched out before him. He left his bike out in the open at the cliff's edge, not giving a rat's ass if anyone saw it or not. There was only one thing on his mind and it wasn't safety precautions.

"David! Jesus Chirst!" Marko swore as his foot got snagged on the bike's kickstand in his mad dash for the stairway. He managed to free himself after giving the bike a vicious kick, something that he would have never had done under normal circumstances.

But then again, this was a normal circumstance.

"David! Dave! David! Oh my god David!" Marko's frantic yelps echoed off the cave walls as he slid into the mouth of the main cavern, nearly tripping over his own feet as he stumbled down the precarious ramp of rubble like some sort of drunken lunatic.

Paul cracked open an eye and lifted his head slightly as Marko dashed past him, screaming out David's name.

"Where's the fire?" Paul croaked as his head flopped back down onto the half-torn rags he was using as a pillow.

Even though two nights had past since Lincoln's unexpected visit Paul still wasn't in top notch form. The wound was fully healed and there wasn't so much as a faint scar to remind him of the grizzly wound that he had received but on a mental level he was still trying to get over the fact that his guts had decorated the cave. It wasn't something that anyone would likely get over in a few days, not even a vampire. So between the booze and the ecstasy he was currently enjoying, Paul was as mellow as a puddle and really couldn't be bothered by Marko or all the racket he was making.

"Paul where's David? Paul! Where is he!" Marko practically screamed in the wasted vampire's ear as he shot out of the busted elevator shaft after having inspected it to see if David was lurking in their sleeping nook.

"I dunno…ask Jim." Paul grumbled and rolled over onto his side, burying his head in the rags in order to block out Marko's voice.

"Jim? Jesus fucking Christ Paul! This is serious! _Where did David go!_" Marko swore as he grabbed Paul by the shoulder and shook him. Paul's head snapped back as he instantly reacted without thinking and with a vicious snarl he snapped at Marko's hand.

"Don't you touch me." Paul growled as he glared at Marko without really seeing him. Marko should have known better than to pull something like that on Paul when he was in that type of drug induced stupor.

"Fuck!" Marko whined as he quickly brought his hand to his mouth and sucked on the wound that Paul's teeth had inflicted. Now what? Where was David? Where was Dwayne? Where was everyone!

"What do I do? Oh man, what do I do?" Marko darted back and forth, not knowing which way to go or what to do with himself. Paul was a lost cause until the drugs wore off and they were alone in the cave. Marko had no idea where the others were and didn't know whether or not he should leave the cave to find them. Did they know? If they knew then they would be at the cave wouldn't they? What were they going to do when Max found out? Did Max even know? What if Max knew and he was making good on his threat to destroy them if this exact situation ever happened? What if David and Dwayne were already dead? What if he was next?

"Oh god. What do I do? We're so fucked." Marko was on the verge of tears. There wasn't a lot out there that could shake him up but the dread that coursed through him at the very thought of what Max could and would do to them once he got wind of the news was so powerful that Marko couldn't fight it.

They were fucked. Royally, totally, simply, completely and utterly fucked.

"David where are you?" Marko whimpered as he gnawed on his lower lip, glancing up at the ceiling as if looking for some sort of divine inspiration. Sadly there was none to be found. "Oh man."

Marko swallowed hard as he hurried over to one end of the cave and wedged himself into a shadowy corner that had a clear view of the cave entrance. He didn't know who would appear but whoever it was he was going to get a clear shot if it was the last thing he did. Hugging his knees to his chest, Marko curled into a ball and waited. There was nothing else he could do. Paul was sprawled on the couch, out of touch with reality and about as helpful as a dead stick at the moment. If Max came charging into the cave before the others got back, Paul would be snuffed out in a blink of an eye but at least he'd go without knowing what got him. Marko knew that he wouldn't be so lucky.

And so he waited. Fifteen minutes felt like four hours as he sat there trembling as a number of different scenarios that involved himself and Max played out in his head, each one worst than the last. He worked himself up into a frightened mental frenzy that by the time Dwayne walked into the cave Marko was crying, having scared himself silly.

"Paul have you seen….Marko?" Dwayne peered into the shadowy corner that Marko had taken refuge in, not quite believing what he was seeing. Was Marko actually crying? Dwayne waited for an answer and when he didn't get one he slowly approached the half-hidden vampire. His expression grew grim when he saw Marko huddled there with his face buried in his arms and when he didn't react to Dwayne's questioning mental nudge, Dwayne knew that something horrible had happened.

"What happened? Was it Lincoln?" Dwayne asked cautiously. He had spent the night scouring the Boardwalk and the surrounding area for the bastard but all he had managed to find was a cold trail that was three days old.

Marko shook his head and didn't bother to look up when Dwayne crouched down in front of him. "Where's David?"

"He's not here?" Dwayne asked as he quickly looked around to make sure that David wasn't in the cave.

"Where's David Dwayne?" Marko asked a second time, ignoring Dwayne's question.

"I'm right here." David's voice rang out as he appeared at the mouth of the cave, looking like hell warmed over. With the dark rings under his bloodshot eyes and the sickly pallor of his skin, David looked like he hadn't slept for the past forty-eight hours and his sullen expression proved that he had not. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he studied Marko for a moment. "What's his problem?"

"And where the hell have you been?" Dwayne asked as he rose to his feet. "I've flown all over Santa Carla and couldn't find a trace of Lincoln. I think he skipped town and if he did we're going to need Max's permission to track him down…what?" Dwayne scowled darkly as David sneered and laughed quietly to himself. "You find this funny?"

"We're not going after Lincoln." David spat as he made his way to one of the fire barrels and hastily lit a cigarette.

"What?" Dwayne asked. Was he serious?

"Are you hard of hearing all of a sudden? I said we are not going after him." David carefully articulated his words so that Dwayne could fully understand what he was saying.

"And why the hell not? You saw what the guy did to Paul! He almost killed him David and we're just going to let that slide? This guy needs to die David. What the hell is the matter with you?" Dwayne growled as he watched David inhale the cigarette and light another one two seconds later. That one was finished off faster than the first.

"Nothing." David hissed and turned his back to Dwayne as he headed for the elevator shaft.

Dwayne opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it. David had been acting weird ever since he got back from Max's house the night before and any time Dwayne or the others had asked him what was wrong David just snapped and stormed off without an explanation which wasn't like him at all.

"David," Marko lifted his head and quickly wiped away any trace of tears with the back of his hand, "we've been found out."

David paused mid-step while in the middle of lighting his third cigarette.

Dwayne looked at Marko in alarm.

Paul opened his eyes and rolled onto his back, his eyes glassy and unfocused.

"Say wha?" Paul mumbled in a hushed tone. Somehow he had heard and understood what Marko said through the thick haze that muddled his mind.

"Paul was on the news. They're blaming him for all the murders that have been going on. They're using the mug shot from his records to identify him. I…I don't know why they think it's him but…but David everyone's out looking for him. It's only a matter of time before they find out about the rest of us and when they do…I don't know if Max knows yet." Marko gave an involuntary shudder that the mention of Max's name. "The report…it said that the cops had evidence. How could they? I mean, Paul didn't do it. How could he? I mean, he was in the cave all last night when it happened right? So how could they have proof? It makes no sense. David it just doesn't make any sense."

Marko sniffed as he kept his eyes on David, waiting to seen what his reaction would be. David was the leader of their outfit and if anyone would know what to do it would be him. He was their only hope. Only David could figure out how to get out of all this without being butchered by Max in the process because in truth David was the only one with the balls to face Max.

"Evidence on Paul? But that's impossible. He wouldn't show up in any pictures or on security cameras…" Dwayne said, still not quite believing in what Marko said. It was practically impossible for the cops to have any dirt on Paul because he hadn't committed the murders. None of them had. When the murders first started happening, they too thought it was a human killer but then after the triple-homicide, they figured that it was probably a trespassing rogue that Max would deal with because enforcing the law in his territory was his sole responsibility and not theirs.

If the police were going to have any dirt on anyone it would be the person who committed the murders, so in their case the rogue. That was unless the rogue was smart enough not to leave a trace but seeing how the bodies were practically laid out in public, the rogue couldn't have been that smart.

Only a vampire with a death wish would even think about killing so openly in another vampire's territory. It would be like walking into a lion's den and beating the sleeping lion over the head with a stick….or a knife.

A knife?

A knife!

"_THATBASTARDSONOFAMOTHERFUCKINBITCH!_" Dwayne roared when the last puzzle piece clicked in his head. Marko looked at him in alarm as Dwayne vamped out and drove his fist into the cave wall, cracking the rock face. "THAT SNEAKY COCK SUCKER! HE SET US UP! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! THAT BASTARD SET US UP!"

The atmosphere quivered as Dwayne's rage mounted higher and higher. Marko's eyes grew wide when Dwayne sent his the red tower tool box flying with a swift kick causing his all his precious tools to crash to the ground.

"Who?" Marko asked as Paul propped himself up on his elbows, his glassy eyes trying to follow Dwayne as he stalked back and forth snarling.

"Lincoln, that's who!" Dwayne spat as he glared at David with his fiery eyes. "I told you we should have killed that fucker the night he came here. I told you David! And now look at what we have to deal with. Your _brother_ certainly has fucked us over real good David."

"We're gonna die cause of that….fucker?" Paul frowned as he tired to put the words together. If he hadn't hit up on enough ecstasy to kill a horse he too would have been destroying things alongside Dwayne, probably more so seeing that he had almost been killed once already by David's blood brother.

"We are not going to die." David said sharply as he turned around and looked at them. Maybe it was the dim lighting but there was something forlorn and unsettling about David's fixed expression.

"So…we're not gonna die now? What's goin' on man? I'm…I'm confused." Paul closed his eyes and shook his head in an attempt to clear it.

"You sure about that David? Cause it's not like Max is just going to let us off the hook for being set up like this. He'll most likely beat the shit out of us just for being set-up." Dwayne growled darkly. His words hovered in the cave as they all realized that what he has said was most likely true. Max had warned them repeatedly in great detail about what would happen if word of their existence ever got out. Even though the police didn't know about what Paul was, it wouldn't take long before their cover was blown. "God damn it! Why the hell didn't we go after him when we had the chance? This wouldn't be happening if you had listened to me David!"

"Oh yeah? What was I supposed to do? Let Paul bleed to death? You're so keen on pegging this on me that you've forgotten about what happened that night." David shot back. His eyes narrowed into slits as Dwayne bared his teeth and growled.

"Okay well fuck about what we didn't do. What are we going to do _now_? David I'm freakin' scared that Max is going to come barging in here in a minute and send us all to hell. What are we going to do? If we leave Max will find us. Do we take a stand? Do we do nothing? What? David tell us what we have to do!" Marko cut in as he scrambled to his feet. He gave the cave entrance a fearful look as he sensed something lurking in the shadows but after a few moments he looked away. It was probably just a rat or a pigeon or something.

"I…," David started but the words just wouldn't come out.

"You what? You don't know?" Dwayne bulled onwards, forcing David into a situation that he couldn't back out of. "Jesus Christ David, don't do this!"

"Do this?" David's voice was soft and controlled as he started towards Dwayne. "You think I'm _doing_ this?"

Dwayne stayed his ground ready for anything but the manic glint in David's eyes suddenly made him feel mighty uncomfortable. Dwayne frowned when David's eyes darted between Marko and himself, a shadow of a cruel smirk appearing on his lips. He wasn't sure what it was but something told Dwayne that there was something not quite right about David.

"What exactly is it that you want me to do? Turn back time? Wave a magic wand and make this all disappear? Pull a rabbit out of a fucking hat?" David asked Dwayne, giving him a fixed stare that didn't waver. "Whenever there's trouble, you always come running to me to fix things, as if I have all the answers hidden away somewhere. The world could be coming to an end but you would automatically assume that somehow I could make it stop. Leave it up to David to save our necks. Hey, why think for ourselves when David can make it right? I never hear anyone else giving any suggestions or taking it upon themselves to try to come up with a solution. Not once has something happened that I didn't have to deal with. _Not once_. And tell me Dwayne? Why….why is that? Hmmm? Can't answer? Don't know?"

David's eyes shifted from Dwayne and locked onto Marko. "Maybe you can answer my question Marko. After all you're always the first one to come running whenever there's trouble."

Marko flinched as if David's soft-spoken words had physically struck him. David saw his reaction and pressed on, not relenting as he went on to cut Marko down.

"Tell me Marko, what would you do if I told you that there wasn't anything I could do to prevent Max from coming down here right now…yes right now and finishing us off. What would you do? Would you run? Or would you use your brain for once and try to figure something out instead of hiding in a corner and waiting for someone else to tell you what to do? Now wouldn't that be something?" David chuckled darkly while Marko wilted under his disgusted stare.

"Why are you doing this?" Marko whispered, now hurt and confused aside from being scared. Why was David saying these things? Why now?

"You want to know why? Really?" David questioned as he looked at both vampires for a moment. "Well it's clear to me that if something was to ever happen to me, you three wouldn't stand a hope in hell of surviving on your own. You are my responsibility but if I were to die tomorrow and you three were left on your own you'd last maybe a week, two weeks at the most before another pack took you out. You've always been so dependent on me that when it really comes down to it, you couldn't wipe your own asses without me saying so. And you assume that I'll always be here to pick up after you guys and solve all the problems but get this; I might not always be here. Ever think of that? Immortality has gone straight to your heads and you think that _all_ _this_ is going to last forever. Well here's a newsflash boys, it's not and I think it's time you all got that through your thick heads because as it stands right now, there's a damn good chance that I won't be here tomorrow!"

"Wadda you talkin' about man?" Paul exclaimed as David's words hung over their heads like an ominous dark storm cloud. He was only taking in snippets of the heated argument but some of it was starting to sink in and he didn't like what he was hearing.

"Paul just…just shut up right now." David closed his eyes for a moment. He wasn't surprised that everything he had just said had gone right over Paul's head.

"Hmph. Fine." Paul snorted before he was distracted by something that no one else could see. He really couldn't make out what he was looking at but something seemed to be moving in the shadows near the mouth of the cave.

"And as for this set-up thing, I don't have a clue about what I'm supposed to do. _Not a fucking clue._ Now tell me, is that a good enough answer for you two?" David finished, looking more worn-out than he had moments ago. It was almost as if he had aged during the time that he started talking up until that very moment. He looked careworn and tired, as if the weight of the world was crushing down on him. He looked old.

Dwayne and Marko stood there, too dumbfounded by David's logical outburst to give him an answer. Marko sent Dwayne a nervous glance but Dwayne's eyes were focused solely on David's face, as if staring at him hard enough would allow him to see what was going on in David's barred mind.

"What happened at the house?" Dwayne finally asked.

Logic dictated that since David had been moody and distant ever since he brought Sarah to Max's house, something must have happened over there that still affected David. As to what it could be, only David knew the answer to that.

_Clink!_

_Clank!_

_Clonk!_

As luck would have it David was spared from giving Dwayne an answer. Suddenly all eyes were on a small grey cylindrical canister that prattled down the uneven ramp and rolled towards David before it came to a grudging stop at his feet.

"What the hell?" David looked at the thing and took a step back.

Nothing happened.

"Hey! I know what that is! It's a…it's a…a whatchamacallit! A smoke bomb! Yeah! I used to make those when I was a kid." Paul exclaimed as he sat up and got to his feet. "But there's supposed to be smoke."

_Poof!_

As if on cue, the cylinder cracked and a large white cloud of smoke billowed upward, engulfing the vampires instantaneously in a small-scale mushroom cloud. Talk about perfect timing.

Speaking of timing…

"FREEZE BLOODSUCKERS!!"

"DEATH TO ALL VAMPIRES!!"

Edgar and Allan appeared at the mouth of the cave, fully armed with loaded water pistols, sharpened stakes and water balloons filled with garlic powder and holy water. Their voices were muffled by the Army-issued gas-masks they were wearing but they seemed to understand each other even if no one else could.

"Let's get 'em!" Allan crowed and the two brothers charged into the smoke-filled cave like a pair of commandos bringing the fight to the enemy.

"Allan go left!" Edgar growled as he launched one of his make-shift garlic grenades at the faint silhouette of either David or Dwayne. The smoke was as thick as sea-side fog and Edgar had to go by gut-instinct instead of sight as he hunted for his quarry, Mullet Head.

"Edgar behind you!" Allan punched Edgar's shoulder to get his attention as he motioned with his water pistol for Edgar to look behind him.

"I see him…." Edgar growled as he whirled around and lobbed his holy hand grenade. Whether or not the holy water filled balloon hit its target wasn't of any concern because the smoke seemed to thicken and Edgar could barely see his hand in front of his face.

"Over there! He's over there!" Allan shouted out from somewhere in the dense smoke.

"Where?" Edgar snapped as he dropped into a fighter's crouch and raised his water pistol to his shoulder, his finger on the trigger. He was moving blind but if he couldn't see anything, neither could the vampires. Their vision may be amazing but not even undead x-ray vision could penetrate the smoke from Allan's homemade smoke bomb.

"Over there, beside the toolbox…where'd he go?" Allan paused for a moment as he glanced over his shoulder. All he could see was white smoke and no Edgar. However Allan did sense a presence behind him.

Utilizing the same combat moves that he had studied from god knows how many Chuck Norris videos Allan dropped to his knees to make himself a smaller target and wrenched a stake from his hand-made utility belt. He remained as still as a statue as he waited for whoever it was lurking in the smoke to come closer and he didn't have to wait long.

"TAKE THAT!" Allan roared as he used the stake as a make-shift bat and swung at the figure's kneecaps in an attempt to knock him down.

"OWWW! That was my foot you moron!" Edgar swore as he teetered back and landed on his ass, one hand gripping his throbbing shin while the other aimed the water pistol right between his brother's eyes.

"Oh sorry man. I thought you were a vamp." Allan huffed as he withdrew his arm and moved the sharpened stake away from Edgar's chest.

"Whatever. They're around here somewhere." Edgar growled as Allan grabbed his arm and helped him to his feet. He gingerly tested his right leg to make sure that everything was in working order. Nothing was sprained thank god but he was going to have one hell of a bruise.

"I can't see any of them!" Allan exclaimed as he peered into the smoke, trying to spot the vampires. Letting his frustration get the better of him Allan ripped off his gasmask and threw it to the ground. "I think I overdid it with the smoke."

"I know that!" Edgar muttered as he turned on the spot, carefully scanning the smoke as it wafted towards the ceiling of the cave. The vampires had to be lurking nearby, but where?

"Look! There's one! GOTCHA!" Allan yelled as he dove at a figure that moved past him. Edgar raised his water gun, clutching it with both hands as he readied himself to fire at the leather-clad figure that Allan was trying to strangle. In his excitement Allan accidentally dropped his wooden stake in order to get a firm hold of the leather jacket that he was grappling with.

"Ahh! Don't kill me!" Ian yelped as he tried to pry Allan's hands from around his throat.

"Who is that?" Edgar growled as he reluctantly lowered his water pistol once again. "Ian?"

"Yeah…Allan let me go I can't breathe." Ian gasped as Allan tightened his grip instead of loosening it.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be covering us!" Edgar barked as he went over to the two and managed to break Allan's grip before his brother could do any serious damage.

"I am! I'm watching your backs like you said." Ian ruefully rubbed his throat as he swallowed hard.

Edgar gave him a look of disbelief and didn't know whether or not to laugh or swear.

"We didn't mean that literally!" Allan practically shouted at Ian.

"You didn't?" Ian looked at the Frogs with a slightly confused expression as he hugged his neon green water pistol to his chest. He didn't like being in the cave, not one bit.

"Oh great! Now our retreat's been compromised. Good going Ian!" Allan growled as he hunted around for his discarded stake and found it a moment later.

"Hey! You told me to cover your backs and that's what I'm doing. You should have been more specific. It's not like I've done this before." Ian muttered as he nervously looked to his left and right. He felt as if he was being watched and the hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end. His gut was telling him to get the hell out of the cave and he would have done so if only he knew which direction the mouth of the cave was. The smoke was starting to thin a bit but there was still enough of it to make it impossible to see more than five or six feet in any direction.

"Yeah well we got a bigger problem to worry about now." Edgar said in a tone that made Ian tremble.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Allan asked as he looked around but could see nothing except a thick curtain of white.

Edgar looked at Allan and Ian before he motioned upwards with his water pistol. "Look up."

They tilted their heads back and glanced upward.

"Ohhhh not good." Allan murmured as he stared slack-jawed at the top of the cave.

David, Dwayne, Marko and Paul were hovering close to the ceiling like four giant shadows and they did not look happy. Their gleaming eyes and demonic faces was more than enough to let the wannabe vampire killers know just how pissed off they were. The fact that the Frogs had caught them by complete surprise was the only reason why they weren't ripping their throats out.

Ian's jaw flapped a few times before he managed to say the obvious. "They're….flying."

"No kidding." Allan couldn't take his eyes off of Marko and Paul as they glared down and bared their teeth at him.

"Did either of you realize that this could happen before you barged in here?" Ian muttered out of the corner of his mouth as he slowly moved towards Edgar as if being closer to the Frog would somehow shield him from the vampires' lethal stares.

"We didn't have time to think of the technical stuff." Edgar muttered back as he reluctantly wrenched his eyes away from David and quickly scanned the cave. The smoke had thinned out enough that he could sort of see the mouth of the cave. With their cover blown it seemed like a good time to leave.

"So now what do we do?" Allan asked quietly as they continued their stand-off with the vampires, both parties waiting to see who would make the first move.

"Retreat?" Edgar suggested.

"Sounds good." Ian readily agreed.

"Now?" Allan asked, gripping his stake tightly in his right hand.

"Now." Edgar gave a slight nod of his head.

"_Run!"_

Edgar, Allan and Ian bolted for the mouth of the cave as panic took over, but the vampires were ready for them.

"Goin' somewhere?" Paul snarled as he dropped down in front of the trio and landed on all fours. His fangs flashed as he roared at them and Ian crashed into the Frogs as they skidded to a dead halt in front of the metal-head.

"Ah!" That was all Ian managed to say before Paul lunged at him with his claws bared.

"Look out!" Allan yelled as he grabbed Ian by the back of his jacket and yanked him out of harms way just before Paul could decapitate him with a swipe of his nails. With Edgar in the lead, Ian and Allan ran towards the archway that led to the internal caves but Marko quickly put a stop to that plan.

"Shit! Other way! Go the other way!" Edgar literally screamed as Marko popped up in front of him and let out a snarl that sent Edgar running with his tucked tail between his legs.

Despite the smoke that lingered in the cave it was easy to see that Ian and the Frogs had nowhere else to run to. With Paul guarding the main entrance and Marko covering the corridor, the teenagers were sandwiched between the two. David and Dwayne slowly floated down on either side of the small band and once they touched ground, the vampires closed ranks.

Ian and the Frogs were trapped.

"Get back! These things are loaded and we aren't afraid to use 'em!" Edgar threatened as Allan and Ian quickly stood shoulder to shoulder so that all three of them were standing back-to-back and facing the four vampires.

David eyed the water gun and snickered. "What are you going to do? Squirt us?"

"Damn straight!" Allan shouted as he took up his water gun and aimed it at David before pulling the trigger. Effortlessly David side-stepped the streaks of holy water faster than Allan could follow and snatched the water gun out of Allan's hands before he had time to react.

"Holy shit!" Allan jumped and he frantically clawed at his utility belt before he wrenched his combat knife out of its sheath and raised it over his head, ready to plunge it into the next vampire that got too close.

"You missed." David said as he gave the water gun a disgusted look and tossed it away.

"Guys….what do we do now?" Ian asked in a frightened voice. His arms were shaking as he kept his water gun aimed at Dwayne, who in Ian's eyes seemed to be ten times taller than he really was.

"Go down fighting." Edgar growled but there was no way that he could have hid the scared note in his voice.

"Oh yeah?" All of Edgar's macho bravado was shattered when Paul simply moved in and wrenched the water pistol out of his hands, along with the rest of Edgar's gear that was strapped to his chest. It was like taking candy from a baby. Paul tossed it away with a smug smirk as Edgar looked down at his hands, stunned.

Well so much for that.

Ian took one look at Edgar and lost his nerve completely. The water gun fell from his hands and he didn't bother to pick it up. What was the point? They were all dead men.

"Man this was a bad idea." Allan swallowed as his eyes darted from David, to Marko and then to Paul. He still had his knife but he doubted that it would have any effect on the four vampires.

"Shut up man." Edgar sniffed as he stepped back as Paul stepped forward.

"It's been nice knowin' you." Allan glanced at his brother as they pressed up against each other while the vampires started to move closer.

"Same here." Edgar nodded his head as he held up his hand and locked it with Allan's.

"Are you three finished?" David asked as he watched the three of them. God, what a bunch of spineless wimps. What the hell were they thinking when they thought that they could actually barge in and kill them? Honestly how stupid could they be? Well David didn't bother to find out.

"Kill them."

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Edgar, Allan and Ian screamed in unison as the vampires snarled and pounced. Edgar and Allan hugged each other, screaming their heads off while Ian tried to make a run for it.

"I'm too young to die!" Allan cried as Marko and Paul tried to pry the two brothers apart.

"Ahhhh! Allan! Oh my god!" Edgar yelled when Paul grabbed him from behind and ripped him off his brother just as Marko grabbed Allan's legs and hauled him away kicking and screaming.

While Paul and Marko were busy with the Frogs, Dwayne chased after Ian who ran in circles around the fountain, dodging this way and that in an attempt to avoid being caught. It worked for a while but Dwayne soon grew tired of the whole ring around the rosy routine and instead of running around the fountain once more, he simply leapt over the busted chandelier and came down on Ian like a ton of bricks.

"Ah! Help me!" Ian yelled as Dwayne hoisted him up off his feet and held him in front of his face so that Ian could get a good look at how sharp his fangs really were.

"Tory! _Tory!!!!!_" Ian screamed as he thrashed in Dwayne's unbreakable grasp. Dwayne just laughed and went for Ian's throat.

**BANG! BANG! BANG!**

Three deafening shots rang out in quick unison and Dwayne's roars of pain outstripped the Frogs panicked yells.

"Dwayne!" David cried out as he watched Dwayne pitch forward onto Ian, screaming and snarling as blood blossomed from three holes in the back of his leather jacket. David snarled as he turned toward the mouth of the cave. Someone as going to pay in blood for that.

Tory stood at the mouth of the cave, in plain view of everyone. Lock in her hands was a handgun that scarily enough looked as if it were made for her.

"Let go of them. _Now_!" Tory shouted as she aimed the gun at Marko as he was about to snap Edgar's neck.

"Look out!" Ian yelped as he wriggled out of Dwayne's hands and rolled away from the wounded vampire, trying to keep himself out of Dwayne's reach before the vampire came to his senses.

If Tory had been a second slower she would never have seen the black blur that spring-boarded off the wall and flew at her. Not taking a moment to think Tory just reacted. Like a magnet drawn to metal the gun in her hands took on a life of its own and as David's snarling visage filled her view, Tory dropped her left hand and her right one flew towards David's face with as much force as she could muster. The cold metal barrel of the gun cracked painfully against David's mouth just as he grabbed her and that swift move was enough to save Tory's life.

Being pistol-whipped in the mouth like that would have probably knocked out most of his teeth had he been human but instead it just threw David off course and knocked out a tooth or two. Tory was thrown back when David shot past her and crashed into the wall but she managed to catch herself half-way as she tumbled down the rocky ramp. Her tailbone was bruised and her jeans had a few new tears in them but she was unharmed and more importantly she was still armed.

David shook his head as he gingerly probed the right side of his mouth with his tongue. Growling harshly he winced and spat out a bloody molar as he picked himself up and glared down at the girl with the gun. Tory rolled to her feet while keeping the gun aimed at David, the two locking eyes while the noise in the cave died down. It was difficult to tell who was angrier. Tory looked every bit as pissed as David did but instead of baring fangs she wielded a handgun.

"_I mean it._" Tory did her best to make her voice sound as low and intimidating as possible and David pulled his lips back in a silent snarl to show that he wasn't buying it. With his mouth bloodied with his own blood, he looked every inch the terrifying vampire he was and Tory swallowed hard but didn't back down. She knew that if she doubted herself for even a second she, Ian and the Frogs were goners.

"What is up with kids these days and bad dramatic entrances?" Paul snickered as he kept Allan pinned face first on the ground by sitting on him and keeping his arms twisted behind his back. He could easily kill Allan and be done with it but the fact that David wasn't attacking Tory caused both Paul and Marko to pause from their would-be killing spree.

"Yeah? Well it's not as bad as your wannabe Twisted Sister image." Tory shot back without bothering to look over her shoulder at Paul. She didn't dare take her eyes off David.

"Tory don't..." Edgar warned but Marko shut him up by stuffing his bandana into his mouth, almost choking him to death.

"Shut up Edgar. I'm saving your life here, remember?" Tory snapped as she adjusted her stance on the precarious ramp when she felt herself slipping backwards thanks to the law of gravity.

"This is cute. It really is. But I've had enough of this." David growled as he horked a wad of bloodied spit and spat it out. He took a step forward to test the waters and as he predicted Tory fired off a shot, the bullet missing its mark as he jumped back up the ramp.

"That was my final warning. The next one goes between the eyes." Tory hissed as she raised her arm and sighted down the barrel, aiming right for David's head. Unless she was an expert marksman she wouldn't be able to make a successful headshot but Tory's poker face was every bit as good as a professionals. If David couldn't decided whether or not she could actually do it he'd have to stall for time which meant that Ian and the Frogs had a few more minutes left to work out some sort of plan that would get them away from the vampires. Tory just hoped that the boys were actually trying to come up with something because she didn't have many bullets left and she was no sniper. It was a miracle that she had actually managed to put three rounds into Dwayne without hitting Ian by mistake.

"Bullets can't kill us." David sneered as he slowly moved to the left.

"Wanna bet?" Tory arched an eyebrow as she kept the gun trained on him, going left when he did.

While Paul watched the stalemate Marko's attention went over to Dwayne who was still lying on the floor on the other side of the cave. Marko gave Dwayne a mental nudge but Dwayne response was faint which wasn't a good sign. "David something's wrong with…"

"Shut up!" David snapped, shooting Marko a warning look.

"_Don't reveal our names you idiot!"_

"_But David, I think Dwayne's hurt bad."_

"_They're just bullets, he'll be fine."_

"_I don't think so. I think he's really hurt. He's not moving"_

"_She probably got him in the spine that's why. Don't do anything until I get rid of her understand?"_

"David is it? Well _David_ it looks like you guys aren't as indestructible was you think you are." It was Tory's turn to sneer. "Fascinating how effective a little water and a drunken priest can be."

Paul and Marko exchange alarm looks while David's face hardened. The stalled game of cat and mouse had just gotten a lot more serious. Bullets hurt like hell and were a real nuisance but posed no real threat to the undead but blessed bullets were no laughing matter. If one got deep enough to do internal damage and wasn't removed quickly, the poor sucker who was unlucky enough to get shot would deteriorate from the inside out and that could take days or even weeks. It was a horrible way to go.

"Blessed bullets?" Allan muttered out-loud, his words muffled but still decipherable.

"Ieeenninoa." Edgar tried to growl _why didn't we think of that_ around the wad of fabric in his mouth but only the vowels came out. Marko hissed and grabbed Edgar from the back of the neck and the Frog instantly froze.

"Shut up." Marko growled in his ear and Edgar did just that.

"Clever. Very clever. But that won't save your friends." David crossed his arms over his chest as he stood there, looking as if were calling the shots. Unlike the moronic kids that had come running into his domain armed with squirt guns and sharpened chair legs, the girl was proving to be a worthy advisory. He was going to have to tread carefully but he knew that he had the upper hand. All he had to do was get in her head and the best way to do that was make her feel small and weak. One girl, a cave full of male vampires, it wasn't that hard to do. Pity David didn't know about Tory's habit of picking fights with male biker gangs because if he had he would have realized that trying the whole "I am the superior male, fear me" routine wouldn't work on her.

"Yeah but it'll make me feel a whole lot better if I gave you a third eye. And as cliché as it sounds, I don't miss when it comes to nailing assholes. And you are an asshole." Tory snorted, using her sassy devil-can-eat-shit-for-all-I-care attitude to hide what she was really feeling. She was going to die. She knew that. The outcome of her getting herself and her friends out of this alive was next to none and she knew that when she fired at Dwayne. But there was no way in hell that she was going to let a prick like David see just how scared to death she really was. In Tory's mind David and his posse was just another bullying biker pack and if she kept thinking of them as that she figured she would have what it took to face the end with dignity. Tory was no killer but like hell was she going to down out without taking someone with her.

David and Tory studied each other as they tried to figure out what the other's move would be. When David started to slowly pick his way down the ramp Tory stepped forward to meet him. She wasn't going to back down.

"Call off your guys. Do it now or I swear I'll kill you." Tory kept the gun leveled with David's heart as she anchored her right foot on the steep incline and shifted her weight onto her left leg.

David came to a stop and stood about a few feet away from Tory. The two were close enough to touch each other but the tension between them was so strong that it felt as if there were a physical barrier placed between David's chest and the barrel of the gun.

"You'd actually do it." David commented quietly so that only she could hear. There was something in the way he looked at her that made Tory's hair stand on end.

"You're not as stupid as you look." Tory smirked as she tried to brush off the unsettling feeling.

"Excuse me?" The astonished look on David's face was priceless.

"You heard me right. Any guy with a mullet like that has to be two sheets shy of a load." Tory snorted as David scowled. Hiding behind the fountain, Ian just shook his head ever so slightly as he listened to his best friend insult a vampire. Typical Tory. Even in a death match her mouth still gets the better of her.

David decided to try a new tactic because it was clear to him that his physical presence wasn't enough to break her guard. It was time to fight dirty. David's blue eyes slowly roved over Tory, eyeing every inch of her as if he were scrutinizing what he was seeing. He let his eyes linger on her chest and when he cocked a pompous smirk Tory went red. There was nothing better to catch a girl off-guard then to make her feel exposed and needless to say it worked like a charm.

"Don't pull that crap on me. It won't work. I've been in and out of more foster homes than you can count and buddy I've seen it all. You're no different than the others. Same type of ugly wrapped up in a different package that's all." Tory growled savagely as her eyes blazed with indignity. The gun in her hands quivered a bit as she tried to keep her face unreadable despite the traitorous scarlet blush.

David's smirk melted into a victorious sneer as Tory seemed unsure of herself. He stepped forward and into the gun and as he did so, Tory quickly took a step back to keep some distance between them. She slipped slightly and David snorted as she lowered her arms in order to keep herself steady. Little did he realize the true reason behind Tory's actions.

"And you all fall the same way." Tory bared her teeth as she kept the gun low and quickly moved up the ramp. She stopped when the barrel of the gun was pressed up against David's groin. If David were to try anything now he'd get his jewels blown off and there would be no getting them back. Ever.

"Who's smiling now?" Tory hissed as she stared up at him while pressing the gun harder against him, making sure he got the message.

Oh he got it all right. Loud and clear.

"Back off boys." David's eyes were blazing with outrage and utter hate at the undignified coupe. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not like this.

Marko and Paul didn't know what to do. Should they kill the Frogs and go help David? Or should they go help David and then kill the Frogs? Either way they weren't going to do anything unless someone died and they wouldn't admit defeat in their own domain, especially if the victor was a girl.

"I can't believe this is happening." David muttered to himself as Tory moved closer, the gun barrel an uncomfortable presence between them.

"Oh you better believe it and don't you _ever_ try to kill my friends again. Got that?" Tory whispered as they practically stood face to face. She turned the gun ever so slightly and David stiffened. "Call them off. Right now."

"_What do you want us to do?"_

Paul couldn't really make out what was going on between Tory and David asides from the fact that David looked highly uncomfortable and Tory too close to him to still be alive.

"_Let the brats go. Now Paul!"_

Paul motioned to Marko with a shrug of his shoulders. Neither of them could really believe that David had actually been bested by a girl. They thought that this was all a part of some master plan he had. Lull her into a false sense of security and then rip her head off, that kind of thing.

"You're lucky." Marko growled at Edgar before he gave him a kick to the side and let him go. Edgar growled something but didn't repeat it when he spat out the bandana. He wasn't about to push his luck.

Ian carefully rose to his feet and edged towards Allan as Paul glared at them but didn't try to kill them. They would have been fools to think that they had the situation under control. Any minutes the vampires could easily pick them off, gun or no gun.

"Girl you've got some serious balls." Edgar commented as he quickly tied his bandana around his head and hurried over to where all of his anti-vampire equipment lay.

"Yeah, I've got to make up for what you three lack." Tory answered as she stayed where she was. She didn't trust David any more than he trusted her. "Get your shit and get out of here."

"But what about Sarah?" Ian asked as he snatched his water pistol off the ground and hugged it to his chest like some sort of security blanket.

"Screw it. She's not here. They must have finished her off." Allan said as he eyed Dwayne's limp figure with longing. It would be so easy to stake the guy, so easy.

"Don't even think about it." Paul snarled as he planted himself between the Frog brother and his pack mate. Allan backed off under Paul's deadly glare and scurried to his brother's side at the base of the ramp.

While the wannabe vampire killers regrouped David had a burst of inspiration. It felt as if a light bulb had popped into existence over his head. He suddenly knew what to do. It would be challenging and a lot of it relied on luck but if he managed to pull it off, David could easily kill more than a few birds with one well-aimed stone.

"You're looking for Sarah? Why?" He asked Tory and he knew that the question caught her interest. It was time for him to play the devil's advocate.

"She's our friend that's why. Who were the guys who took her last night from that high-class house near the waterfront? Don't bother lying because we know you were a part of it." Tory said as she motioned for the Frogs to get up the ramp and out of the cave while she still had control over the vampires.

"I can tell you who they are…" David said and raised his eyebrows in a knowing look.

"But?" Tory asked.

"Why don't we strike a deal?" He offered as he eyed the Frog brothers for a moment.

"And why would _we_ want to do that?" Tory narrowed her eyes slightly. There was something fishy about all this.

"Because," David snorted as he turned his attention back on her, "I need your help."

"What?" Edgar, Allan, Ian, Paul and Marko all looked at David as if he had just lost his mind.

"We have a score to settle with the guy who took your friend and you want your friend back. I don't need to spell it out for you." David made it a point to ignore Marko and Paul's shocked faces as he looked at Tory. It was impossible to tell if he was bluffing or actually telling the truth.

"And how do I know if this isn't just a bunch of bullshit to get me to lower the gun?" Tory said, not believing David.

"You don't and despite the fact that I would like nothing more than to kill you right here and now, that really isn't an option for me. So, why not look at the bigger picture? You'll never be able to find your friend without our help and we could use the extra numbers, especially after that little stunt you pulled on us." He said as he nodded over to where Dwayne lay. Marko was kneeling beside the downed vampire, checking him over to see if the injuries were as serious as he suspected. Even if they were no more than flesh wounds, Dwayne would be out of commission for a few days and David didn't want him anywhere near Lincoln if he wasn't as his physical best. He'd rather take on the bastard alone rather than put Dwayne in jeopardy.

"So you know where she is?" Ian asked as he carefully climbed up the ramp, keeping himself behind Tory and a safe distance from David.

"No I don't." David said truthfully. It was true, none of them had any idea where Lincoln was but he did know that wherever the vampire was lurking Sarah would be with him.

"Well then that's a fat lot of good to us." Tory muttered as she gave him an accusatory look. "Is there any other useless information you could give us?"

"Actually there is." David scratched his chin as he kept an eye on Marko. "We know that they're somewhere between San Francisco and Los Angeles."

"Oh wow. That just narrows it down a whole lot now doesn't it? All that means is that they're still in the state which if you forgotten is one big-ass state. You know what, screw it. I'll just shoot you now and then you can do whatever the hell you want." Tory said and it honestly she looked as if she were about to pull the trigger. Paul tensed, ready to spring to David's defense but it was Ian prevented Tory from unsexing David and getting them all killed.

"They won't be near San Francisco." Ian spoke up as he carefully moved closer to Tory so that he could get a better look at David. David actually gave him a look of thanks as Tory backed off a bit in order to hear him out.

"And why the hell not?" She asked Ian as David looked from Ian to Tory, trying to decide whether or not it would be a smart move to fly upwards while she was distracted.

With his supernatural speed he could easily make it and still be intact but there was a small voice of doubt in the back of his mind that told him not to try it, least Tory's shot him as he moved. If it were his leg he wouldn't bother too much about it but he didn't want to take any chances in jeopardizing the area that she was aiming for.

"Because if you ever bother to listen to me when I tell you something you'd have known that Sarah comes from San Francisco." Ian stated blandly, letting Tory know that he was still upset with her about what had happened earlier on the Boardwalk.

"How do you know that?" Edgar asked as he finished strapping on his reinforced vest. He kept one hand on his stakes while the other held the water gun, ready to be used at a moment's notice.

"Because it says so in the article." Ian sighed as he dug into his jean pocket and took out the now crumpled piece of paper. He smoothed it out the best he could and fearfully held it out to David. David carefully took the article as Tory watched him and he noted with some satisfaction that Ian shrunk away from his hand. "Whoever has her would have to be a complete moron to go anywhere near San Francisco with her. Her uncle's some sort of bishop or something so everyone's been looking for her for over a month which means that most people in that area would probably recognize her face."

"So she could be anywhere between here and L.A." Edgar noted as he carefully mulled over the facts. "That still doesn't help us much because they could be anywhere and it's not like we can go through every town or side road. That would take months and we'd have to hitch it most of the way. It's not like we can fly at superhuman speed or something Ian."

"We could." David said as he scanned over the article, taking a particular interest in Sarah's religious uncle. He wondered if Max knew about the man when he abducted her all those weeks ago. He probably did but that led to the question of why he would risk getting the Roman Catholics on their case. The church knew that they existed and if Sarah's holier-than-though uncle even had a sneaking suspicion as to who was behind his niece's abduction, the man would have every crusading vampire hunter combing the state from them. "It would still be difficult to find them. They could have gone anywhere."

"What about Highway 87?" Allan thought out loud as he remembered what Crooked Jack had told them earlier that day. "Crooked Jack said that the Chevelle was on Highway 87 going toward Los Angeles last night. That means the guy who took Sarah is probably taking the coastal highway south. There are plenty of places to lie low in that won't have too many people around along that route."

"And Lincoln would stay away from populated areas, least he draws attention away from Santa Carla." David murmured quietly to himself as he stared at the black and white picture of Sarah, thinking quickly. "And if I know Lincoln he'll stick to remote areas to hunt. So he'd either be on the coast or empty stretches of road. He always liked to play with his food and the best place to do it would be out in the middle of nowhere."

Ian shuddered at the thought of being killed by a vampire along an empty side road and he didn't want to think about what the vampires around him did for fun.

"So now what?" David asked as he folded the scrap of newspaper and put it in his coat pocket, taking care not to make any sudden movements. "Do we have a deal? You help us settle a score and we help you get your friend back. Agreed?"

The Frogs scowled at David and it was easy to see that they would rather chew their own arms off than strike a deal with the bloodsucker but Ian wasn't so opposed to it. After all if they made the deal the vampires wouldn't kill them just yet and that would give them some time to think of a new plan to get rid of them. Ian wasn't a fool. He knew that if they ran out of the cave right then without finishing the vampires off, it would be a matter of days before the vampires took them out. These guys were ruthless killers and the Frog Brothers sad attempt at eradicating evil had clearly pissed them off big time. Also they would be able to get Sarah back as well and if she turned out to be as dentally enhanced as David and the others were…well they would have to deal with that when the time came.

Tory glanced over her shoulder to see what the others though of David's scheme and when she looked at the Frogs, they simultaneously shook their heads no. Ian gave Tory a pleading look as he nodded his head and then it was up to Tory to make the final decision. She was the one with the gun after all and if she didn't decide right, none of them would be leaving the cave alive.

"Since I'm the one with the gun, I say…agreed. But if you even think of going back on your word or try to kill us in any way, I'll rip your balls off and make you eat them." Tory said and David knew she meant every word. He nodded his head as he clenched his right hand into a tight fist, tight enough to drive his nails through the skin.

"I understand." He said as he unclenched his fist and held out his hand to her. Tory thought it over for a moment and when she came to a decision she lowered the gun away from David and shook his hand.

"Ow." Tory quickly yanked her hand back when she accidentally scratched the back of her hand against his sharp fingernails. The scratches weren't too deep but there was enough blood on her hand to make Ian wince at the sight of it. A bloodied hand in a cave full of vampires. That couldn't be good.

"Sorry." David apologized but didn't sound all too apologetic as he eyed at his hand, his nails in particular. There was blood under his cuticles but not all of it was Tory's. Before the Frogs could see what was going on, David yanked his leather gloves out of his pocket and put them on in order to mask his hands from view.

"Here." Ian took out a ratty bandana from his back pocket and wrapped it around Tory's hand before David got any ideas. He glared at David as if he somehow suspected foul play on the vampire's part.

"Now if you'll excuse me." David said and shouldered past Ian and Tory as he picked his way down the ramp. The Frogs quickly moved out of his way as he went over to Dwayne and when David and Paul crouched at Dwayne's side, Edgar and Allan scooted up the ramp.

"What the hell are you thinking? Making a deal with a vampire? Are you insane!" Edgar said in a harsh whisper as he and his brother hovered around Tory.

"Why didn't you just shoot the guy when you had the chance?" Allan asked before Ian nudged him in the ribs and motioned him to keep his voice down. Allan shot a cautious look over his shoulder but he couldn't see what the vampires were doing. They were crouched over the fallen vampire with their backs to the small group and to him they resembled vultures hovering over an animal carcass.

"Why? Because if I did the other ones would have killed you! I'm not made of arms you know and I only have one gun not ten." Tory said as she rewound the bandana over her hand and let Ian tie the ends into a knot. "And plus we all know that they'll kill us anyways so I've just bought you guys time to figure out a way how to kill these guys _properly_ before they get the chance to kill us. Understand?"

The Frogs looked at each other and then back at Tory with identical knowing frowns on their faces. Now it was clear to them what their objective was. They had to kill the vampires without arousing their suspicion. It was a challenge but after their first botched attempt, they were ready for it. It was time to prove that the Frog Brothers were true Awesome Monster Bashers.

"Is that why you took off today?" Ian sheepishly asked Tory as he motioned to the gun. He knew for a fact that she didn't own a gun because time and time again Tory had moaned and groaned about wanting to get her hands on one for the sake of knocking off some biker that had managed to piss her off. He knew that she wasn't serious about killing anyone but after witnessing her daring if not insane face-off with David, Ian knew that she would have used the weapon. Tory had made it clear that she would have killed to save his life and that fact made Ian's head spin.

Tory looked down at the gun for a minute before she remembered that she had to put the safety back on. "I told you I had something to take care of and I knew that you'd have tried to stop me if I told you what I was doing. What else was I supposed to do?" She asked as she carefully tucked the gun into the waistband of her jeans, hiding it from view with her leather jacket.

Ian shrugged his shoulders, not knowing what do say.

"How'd you get the gun?" Edgar interrupted as he eyed Tory with a newfound respect. To him there was nothing more impressive than guns and chicks who knew how to use them.

"Never mind how I got it. Did you honestly think that I would take on vampires armed with a water gun and a piece of wood?" Tory snorted as she flicked her hair behind her ear with a mischievous grin. She knew she was being admired and she was going to ham it up big time. After all, it wasn't often that she was the central focus of major oohing and ahhing. It felt good to be worshiped a bit.

"But how'd you get the bullets blessed?" Allan couldn't quite figure out how she had managed that one. Usually the local priests weren't up to blessing vampire killing equipment. They knew that from experience.

"Easy. There's a drunk of a priest near my house. All I did was wrap the clip in tissue paper, swiped a bottle of 5 dollar booze and paid him off. I told him it was a rosary that I was giving to a sick friend. Don't think he believed me but then again all he believes in is sacramental wine." Tory tapped the side of her nose slyly. They all had Tory's clever thinking and the vices of Father Fitzpatrick to thank for being alive and there was no way that Tory was going to let them forget it. Not after the whole bickering incident that happened between the four of them.

"Smart." Edgar nodded his head and let his eyes roam over Tory for a few moments. Maybe she was more than just a thorn in his side after all. He was thoroughly impressed and the only other female that had ever impressed him was Wonder Woman and she was a comic hero. Tory was the real deal.

"Why Edgar, that's the second compliment you've given me in the past ten minutes. I think hell just froze over." Tory mock-shivered as she flaunted a smug smirk that would have normally triggered a verbal spat between them.

"Uh yeah…sure." Edgar was at a loss for words. What was he supposed to safe after she had just saved his life? Allan gave his brother a strange look and rolled his eyes. He wasn't going to say anything.

While they continued their whispered council session, the vampires were holding one of their own and it went along the same lines as Tory's only with a few subtle differences. One being that David was doing his best not to turn right around and beat the snot out of Tory for what she did to Dwayne.

"Is he going to be all right?" Marko asked quietly as he gnawed on his lower lip, not knowing where he should look.

Upon closer inspection David had been right about where the bullets had struck the downed vampire. The first shot had grazed his side and left an ugly looking scorch mark that wasn't life threatening. It was the other two bullets that were worrisome. One had lodged itself into Dwayne's left shoulder but thankfully his shoulder blade had prevented it from going right through him. However it was clear to David that the bone was shattered and it was going to take a few days to heal properly, even with Dwayne's supped up healing powers working in over-time. The other bullet had got him in the middle of his back, right in the spine as David had predicted. Dwayne's lack of movement was attributed to the fact that he couldn't feel the lower half of his body.

"Get me a knife." David demanded as he shot a deadly glare in Tory's direction while Paul carefully took of Dwayne's jacket. Marko zipped to the overturned toolbox and after a minute of searching he came back with one of Dwayne's switchblades.

"When do you want us to take them out?" Paul muttered under his breath as he winced at the sight of Dwayne's mutilated backside. Yet he wasn't referring to the blessed bullets.

"Tomorrow night." David replied as he pried his gloves off with his teeth and carefully felt around each wound, trying to find the exact spot of each bullet.

"Why tomorrow? We can do it right now, gun or no gun." Marko snapped the sharp blade into view before he handed it over to David.

"We need them that's why." David growled softly, hating to admit that they were going to have to rely on those brats in order to pull of his plan. Their fate literally rested on the small band of wannabe monster hunters. If everything went according to his plan, there would be no way for Max to go through his with numerous death threats and there would be four more Missing Persons flyers added to poster boards of Santa Carla.

"Marko, I'm going to need take-out." David pointedly looked at Marko as he held the knife carefully in his right hand.

"What kind?" Marko asked, knowing exactly what David was implying.

"Italian. And a lot of it." David said and Marko nodded and gave him a small salute. Marko knew that David often preferred European over American and Italian was a favorite of his.

"Guy or girl?" Marko asked as he rose to his feet.

"Both." Came the reply and Marko took off, flying out of the cave. Tory, Ian and the Frogs threw themselves down onto the ramp when the vampire soared over them but before the Frogs could soak him, Marko was long gone.

While Marko went hunting along the Boardwalk to fill David's request, David and Paul went to work on Dwayne's back. David used the blade to carefully dig out each bullet and cut away the scorched flesh around each wound while Paul kept watch, guarding the two from any sneak attacks the kids might pull. The savage snarl on his face was enough to make the Frogs keep their distance and when David gave the signal, Paul chased the teens out of the cave and threatened them with various degrees of bodily harm if they didn't wait near the top of the stairs. Needless to say, Tory and the others waited and as they brainstormed ideas about how to get rid of the vampires, David did his best to patch Dwayne up and fill Paul in on how he intended to kill five birds with one stone. They were both thankful that Dwayne was out cold because if he had been conscience, there was no way that David could have done what he had to do in order to prevent the infectious areas from spreading. It was going to be a good while before Dwayne was going to be his old brooding self again and they had a bunch of teenagers to thank for it.

"God I friggin hate kids these days." Paul snorted as he carefully wrapped the bloodied bullets in one of Dwayne's oil-drenched rags. "We were never that stupid when we were that age."

David glanced at Paul and wisely decided to say nothing as Paul left the cave in order to chuck the bullet-filled rag into the ocean. Now was not the time to hurt Paul's feelings.


	13. Bear Baiting

**Heyo Sportsfans!!**

**Long time no see! I know this chapter is about 5 months overdue and I apologize for the long wait. Things have been pretty hairy over on this side of the net and I may have bitten off more than I can chew in the education department but what can ya do? Anyways, here's the next chapter and I've already started picking away at the next two. We're pretty close to the end and I honestly cannot wait until this story is over. It's been over a year now. Oy! Ya think I would have gotten my act together and hurried up and finished the damn thing? **

Happy Reading.

* * *

_In the dark - there ain't no distractions  
Take it off - the mask won't let you see  
Ain't lettin' up till you unleash all your emotions  
I'll be here waiting  
Got love, if you want it  
Aw, we'll take it as it comes  
_

_Touch by touch - little by little  
I'll unchain your heart  
Don't be afraid of the dark  
Take my hand - little by little  
We'll break down these walls  
Don't be afraid of the dark_

Across the vast night sky star twinkled and glittered like hundreds of thousands of tiny diamonds as the Y & T song drifted out of the Chevelle's car radio while the neighboring crickets accompanied the lead guitarist with their own leggy solos.

"Lincoln, do you believe that there's a heaven?"

Lincoln frowned and didn't respond to Sarah's question right away. Instead he took a long drag on the stub of his cigar and kept his eyes trained on the fading stars overhead.

"Yeah I guess." He exhaled a number of smoke rings, each one smaller than the last.

"Really?" Sarah turned her head to the side so that she could see his profile. She hadn't expected that answer, not from him.

Lincoln knew that she was dying to pester him with questions about his beliefs and a coy smile appeared on his face as he chomped on the cigar and tucked his hands behind his head.

"C'mon don't be like that. Do you really think so?"

For the past couple of hours Sarah had kept up a steady stream of questions concerning just about anything and everything to do with vampires while Lincoln introduced her to the fine art of stalking and taking down a main course undetected. Despite a few minor bumps in the road Sarah proved to be a fast learner and by the time they had finally satiated their blood cravings Sarah was well on her way to becoming a pro at the silent snatch and grab.

"Well, do you?" She asked as she looked up at the sky. Having lived in San Francisco all of her life, Sarah never really got the chance to appreciate stars except on those few occasions that she and her family had gone camping at some isolated camping grown far from the city. Now she found herself surrounded by utter darkness while lying beside Lincoln on the hood of his precious car in the middle of nowhere along an empty stretch of highway. The stars overhead were so numerous that the sky looked as if it were being lit up by hundreds of thousands of twinkling fireflies. She never realized how inspiring the stars could be.

"What do you think?" Lincoln chuckled and nudged her with his elbow.

"I don't know, you tell me. I never figured that you'd be the religious type." Sarah said as she sat up and rested her back against the windshield so that she could get a better look at him.

"That's cause I ain't." Lincoln yawned and stretched lazily.

"But you just said…" Sarah trailed off as she mulled over his response. She didn't get how Lincoln could say that he believed that heaven could exist and not be religious. It didn't make any sense to her.

Lincoln craned his head back and glanced up at her with a clever smile on his face. "Just cause I said that I think there's somethin' bigger out there don't mean I'm a bible thumper kid. You gotta stop thinkin' in extremes and start thinkin' for yourself. You asked if I believe in the hereafter right? And I said yes but that don't mean that I think it's a place where there's a bunch of winged white bread blonde homos wearin' togas and floatin' around on clouds. Cause if that's what you think heaven is, girl you're in for one helluva surprise."

"Oh I am, am I?" Sarah folded her arms over her chest.

"Yep." Lincoln chuckled as she playfully kicked him in the shoulder. "Lemme tell ya a little somethin' about heaven Sarah…"

"Now that's funny. A vampire telling another vampire about heaven. Can you say hypocritical?" Sarah interrupted with a roll of her eyes.

"Don't you go rollin' your eyes at me missy." Lincoln growled mockingly as he rolled onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow, careful to keep the smoldering end of his cigar away from the hood of the car. "As I was sayin' before I was so rudely interrupted, the reason why I believe heaven exists is 'cause I've been there."

Lincoln paused for effect and wasn't disappointed by Sarah's reaction.

"_Are you shitting me?_" Sarah stared at him as if he had just told her that Kiefer Sutherland was his brother or something.

Yes it would seem that even Miss Morality herself had a thing for the Brat Pack actor who starred as a bad ass greasy hood in a film that had been released a few years back about a bunch of kids searching for a dead body.

"Do I look like I am?" He arched an eyebrow as Sarah just stared at him, flabbergasted.

"I…reason says yes but…," Sarah stopped and chewed on a nail as she tried to read Lincoln's expression. He could be leading her on and she believed that he was but there was something about the way he had said it that sounded sincere. And Lincoln was not sincerity at its best.

"Ya don't believe me." Lincoln filled in the missing gap with a dry chuckle.

"Well can you blame me? You're not exactly saint material here." Sarah stated as she nipped off the tip of her fingernail and spat it in his direction.

"That I ain't and damn proud of it." Lincoln flicked the offending nail out of his hair before he pointed his cigar at her. "But it's true."

"Let me get this straight. You're telling me that you died, went to heaven which I find really hard to believe, and now you're here. Ummm…so when in your undead life did to kick the bucket and come back? Are you also going to tell me that you can walk on water too?" Sarah giggled as the image of a saintly looking Lincoln appeared in her mind, completely with a toga, long beard and a halo.

"Ya think this is funny huh?" Lincoln scowled slightly as he caught a glimpse of himself in Sarah's mind. He did not appreciate the halo bit.

"Yeah. But c'mon, I died too remember? And I didn't see any bright light or golden gates or any of that stuff." Sarah shrugged her shoulders as she brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them. "There was nothing. It was all…black."

"That's cause you were turned the easy way." Lincoln took a final drag on the cigar before he chucked it over his shoulder and sat up.

"The easy way?" Sarah shot him a guarded look. "There was nothing _easy_ about what I went through."

"Now don't go gettin' all defensive on me. I's just sayin' that in the vamp world goin' the half vamp route is what we call the easy way. It sure sucks ass but trust me, it's a shit load better than what I went through." Lincoln scratched his chin as his gaze drifted towards the horizon. Night was coming to an end and the sun was going to rise in a few hours. They had to be back at the house an hour before sunrise so that he could give Lucard a complete rundown on Sarah and what he had found out.

"You mean Max didn't trick you into drinking his blood?" Sarah asked, giving Lincoln her full attention.

Max had tricked her by using the old "wine" routine. It happened at a socialite party that her parents had thrown for all the big political guns of San Francisco. With her uncle being who he was he had connections galore and there was nothing her parents loved better than to mingle with the rich and powerful. Max had shown up at the party and claimed that he was a partner in some sort of money-making construction firm and no one thought otherwise. He definitely had pulled the act off perfectly and since he seemed to fit right in, everyone had accepted him. In fact her parents had been thrilled.

Sarah hated the parties because they were always dry and boring but since she had to be the proper daughter she was always there, trying to be charming and polite to people she didn't know and most of the time couldn't stand. But Max had been different. He had taken an interest in her and while everyone else seemed to ignore her, he took the time to talk to her, asking her about school and such. Surprisingly Max had been quite in tune with the times and knew just as much about the Debbie Gibson and Tiffany rivalry as Sarah had. She was pretty taken with him by the time he offered her a glass of red wine after stating that she seemed to older and more mature than most teenagers that he had known. Sarah didn't think twice about it. Hey, he had thought she was mature. That made him cool in her books. However, all that changed the night after the party. There was something about being abducted out of her bedroom in the dead of night that really didn't sit too well with Sarah.

"Hell no! You think I would have fallen for it?" Lincoln snorted and Sarah looked away. "Aw hell, I didn't mean it like that. He pulled it on you cause he knew you were too trustin'. You never had to fight every day to survive; you never got that cautious edge from leadin' the hard life. Me and Dave…if he had offered us a thousand bucks we wouldn't have touched it. We would have known somethin' was up."

"Whatever." Sarah murmured as she rested her chin and her knees and kept her eyes on anything but Lincoln.

Lincoln ran his tongue over his teeth as he wondered about what he had said that had made Sarah go all touchy feely all of a sudden. Women of all ages were so nitpicky about the littlest things so Lincoln didn't give it much thought. Instead he sat up and peeled off his leather biker jacket.

"Here, look." He said as he tossed his jacket at Sarah.

"What?" Sarah grumbled as the jacket hit her head on. She huffed something under her breath and threw the jacket back at him. "Look at what?"

Lincoln smirked as he caught his jacket and laid it on the windshield. He grabbed his black t-shirt and yanked it over his head as Sarah blinked and rolled her eyes.

"If you expect me to be impressed by chest hair it's not going to happen." Sarah grumbled as she gave him her best cynical expression.

She had to admit though for a guy who has been dead for over 20 years, Lincoln was in pretty good shape. But then again he would have been that way when he died. Despite that fact he certainly had it going on in the buff department but Sarah would bite off her own tongue before she ever told him that. There was no need to stoke his already self-assured ego, even if he did have an impressive torso.

"In your dreams kid. You're not my type." Lincoln chuckled as he flexed his shoulders to show off just a tad.

"Okay Stallone, you were saying?" Sarah said as she reached over and poked his arm as hard as she could but Lincoln didn't even seem to notice.

"This." Lincoln tilted his head to the left and brushed his hair away from his neck. It had only been a day since Lincoln had given himself a complete make-over but even so his hair had grown back to its usual shoulder length.

Sarah had to lean forward so that she could make out what Lincoln wanted to show her and she hissed when she saw the silvery road-map of scars that crisscrossed the right side of his neck and shoulder.

"This is what we call the hard way. Ain't pretty and it'll never go away." Lincoln said quietly as Sarah carefully lifted her hand and traced some of the scars with the tips of her fingers.

"He did this to you? Why?" Sarah's voice carried the scared tone that Lincoln had come to associate with her fear of Max. She only ever sounded that way when that bastard was involved somehow.

"Cause I fought back. Old Max hates it when he has to work at gettin' what he wants. I didn' roll over and die so he made sure I did." Lincoln's words were hard as he watched Sarah explore the rest of the scars that ran down his back where Max's nails had torn into him all those decades ago.

"He killed you." Sarah swallowed hard as she dropped her hand into her lap and stared at Lincoln with what had to be pity in her eyes.

Lincoln hated being pitied.

"Yeah he did, and I should have stayed dead." Lincoln's words came out sharp as he grabbed his shirt and slipped it over his head. Instantly Sarah dropped her gaze and stared at her hands but her curiosity got the better of her.

"But you didn't."

"No I didn't."

They sat in an awkward silence as the crickets continued to chirp their symphony.

"I never knew why he brought me back. Wasn't for my charmin' personality. I woulda been happy stayin' dead." Lincoln began as he picked up his leather jacket and shrugged it on. "It was nice…being dead. Nothin' to worry about, nothin' to hurt ya, it felt…I dunno…it felt good. Hell, I was no loss when I went but I wasn't what I was later. I was never that bad before. I guess that's why I went where I went. Dunno what it was. Coulda been the Big House in the Sky but whatever it was, it felt like a good place to be ya know?"

Sarah nodded slowly as she picked at her fingernails. She could understand what Lincoln was saying and despite her lingering misgivings she wanted to believe that it was true.

"Then it was gone and there was only the hurtin'. Hurtin' like I've never known before. I went from heaven to hell in a heartbeat and I guess that's what broke me." Lincoln flexed his fingers as if he wanted nothing more than to wrap them around Max's neck and throttle him to death.

Sarah gave him a look of confusion that he caught out of the corner of his eye. She didn't get what he meant. Great. Now he was going to have to explain it all to her in a way that she'd be able to understand.

"It's a risk gettin' bit like I was. Just cause a vamp sinks his teeth into you don't mean you're gonna survive it. I did but I was gone on the inside." Lincoln frowned as he struggled to put everything into perspective. Explaining the technicalities of death isn't the easiest thing in the world here, especially since Lincoln didn't want to remember the things that he had managed to bury away from memory. "That's what makes us change Sarah. They kill you and then bring you back…but you're…I dunno…different. There are pieces missin' and the gaps eat away at ya t'ill there's nothin' left but the bad. That's when it gets ugly. Understand what I'm sayin'?"

"So that's why you hate Max so much." Sarah murmured as she realized the truth behind Lincoln's unquestionable hate. "He destroyed you."

Lincoln just nodded and rubbed the back of his neck where he could still feel the ghost of Max's stranglehold after all that time.

"Oh yeah. I went bad after that. Real bad. David, he turned cynical but me, I went from trouble to just damn well rotten." Lincoln shrugged slightly as he slipped back into his jacket. It was the honest truth.

"Oh." Sarah chewed her lower lip as she thought of something else to say. "Lincoln…"

"Yeah kid?"

"How did you get away?"

Lincoln arched an eyebrow as he gave her a careful look.

"Get away?"

Sarah tugged the end of her ponytail and started to twirl strands of her hair into small knots as she shyly looked him in the eye.

"You know. From Max. If you were as bad as you say you were, then why didn't Max just kill you? I know that he's always threatening David and the others with the Death of a Thousand Screams or something like that if they ever cross him in any way...so how did you manage to get away in one piece?"

Lincoln scratched the stubble on his chin as he thought the question over for a few seconds.

"You know, I don't really know why old Max just didn't kill me instead of handin' me over to Lucard. I was a mistake. Couldn't be controlled. I knew he was gonna kill me so it was only a matter of time. Thing is kid I didn't care 'bout dyin', I still don't. I became a threat to his perfect little image so I figured, well fuck it if he's gonna off me then I might as well take the bastard to hell with me. He deserves it the fucker."

"So you went to expose him at the train yard…I overheard David telling Marko about it last night before…" Sarah's voice trailed off as the trauma from the previous night threatened to rear its ugly head.

Lincoln nodded as he leaned back and rested his elbows against the Chevelle's windshield. "Oh yeah. And it was _beautiful_ kid. _Freakin' beautiful. _There was so much carnage it woulda made Jason Voorhees cry. There was no way Max could've covered it all up. No way. It was the perfect "fuck you". Well it would've been if David hadn't fucked things over."

"David? What do you mean?" Sarah asked. David had not mentioned anything about taking part in Lincoln's infamous bloodbath.

"He got in the way. The moron actually tried to stop me." The dark edge in Lincoln's laugh sent chills down Sarah's spine. Lincoln's unnerving jackal smile appeared as he tilted his head to the side and continued. "Tryin' to save his own damn skin. Ya see if Max got exposed so would he and any vamp that gets found out gets finished off. Them's the rules."

Lincoln ran a finger across his throat and laughed once more when Sarah winced at the thought of being decapitated by another vampire. How charming.

"So…David stopped you?" She asked, trying to get Lincoln back on track so that she could find out more about the incident. She knew that there was more to the story than what she overheard from David and whatever it was Sarah wanted to know about it.

"Stop me? Nah, he couldn't. Tried though, I'll give him that. He just kept me busy until Max got there." Lincoln chuckled as he threw his head back and yawned loudly. "Hot _daaaaaayy_mn."

"And then?" Sarah asked, leaning forward slightly.

"And then what?" Lincoln asked as he shook his head from side to side and blinked at her. Well someone sure was an eager beaver here.

Sarah scowled at him as she huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Did she honestly have to spell it out for him? "What happened? What did Max do?"

"You wanna know what Max did to me?" Lincoln couldn't help but laugh. Out of all people Sarah wanted to know the nitty gritty of Max's handiwork. Either Sarah was a secret fan of morbidity or the girl had her head screwed on wrong.

"Yes…I…damn it Lincoln I want to know!" Sarah's faced hardened as Lincoln snorted into another laughing fit when he saw her stubborn determination. "I'm being serious here!

Lincoln rolled back up into a sitting position so that they were level with each other when he managed to get his laughter under wraps. "Now, that's funny. Sarah every time I say his name you cringe so why the hell would I tell you? Ya think I'm that stupid? Last thing I need is for you gettin' nightmares. Hell, Lucard'll just love that."

"Nightmares?" Sarah's eyes flashed and before she even realized what she was doing, she had Lincoln by the collar of his leather jacket and shoved her face into his. "Listen Lincoln, I know I'm a newb small-time vampire but I've been through hell and back so if you think I'm going to go off and cry in a corner over some freakin' story you got another thing coming. I want you to tell me what happened because I want to know what he's capable of first-hand. I want to know how he works!"

If Lincoln was offended by this sudden outburst he didn't show it. Instead he just arched an eyebrow and brought his face closer to hers so that he could look her in the eye.

"Why?"

"You're not the only one who wants him dead Lincoln. He may not have ripped my throat out but he ruined my life and I'm not going to forget that." Sarah growled as they stared each other down. There, Lincoln now knew the truth. Sarah wanted revenge and she would do whatever it took to get it. She may still consider herself to be a "nice person", despite her newfound appetite for human blood, but that didn't mean she didn't have a personal vendetta against the man who made her this way.

"You honestly think you got a chance against him? Kid you're insane." Lincoln shook his head slightly. He himself had been waiting to kill Max for over 20 years and there was no way that Sarah could ever pull off something like that herself. He knew exactly how she felt but the kid was never going to be able to nix Max.

"I know I don't. But we might." Sarah let go of his jacket and sat back.

She knew she couldn't do it alone but maybe if she had Lincoln on her side then something would be able to happen. After all, Lincoln hated Max probably even more than she did and she knew that Lincoln would like nothing better than to get a decent chance at Max. If they worked together who says that it can't happen?

"You're serious."

That wasn't a question. It was a statement.

"Never been more serious in my life." Sarah nodded her head.

Lincoln eyed her and realized that she had more of himself in her than he first realized. Hell, she really did seem to take after him and that was something that could go both ways.

"It ain't pretty." Lincoln's warning was as serious as the grave as he carefully scanned the empty landscape around them to make sure that there was no one lurking under a shrub or in a shadow. One could never be too careful along the highway.

"It never is." Sarah swallowed hard and tried to hide it. This was her chance. She was finally going to see Max's work first-hand and it was something that scared the crap out of her and excited her at the same time.

"Fine. But I warned you." Lincoln gave her a pointed look. Once he started there would be no turning back.

"I'm a big girl Lincoln, I can handle it." A moment of doubt flashed across Sarah's mind but she quickly kicked it out of her head before it had time to settle. If she chickened out now then she would loose her only opportunity to see and study Max for what he really was.

"We'll see about that." Lincoln's expression was hard and grim as he carefully swung his legs onto the hood of the car and motioned Sarah to move closer with a brief wave of his hand. Careful as always, Sarah scooted forward so that she and Lincoln were practically and inch apart of one another. She didn't know what he was going to do but she was determined to see this through.

"Put your hands on my shoulders." Sarah did as he said and placed her hands on his broad shoulders while he gently placed his hands on either side of her face with his fingers resting on her temples. "Now close your eyes."

Sarah started to say something but decided otherwise and closed her eyes. She wasn't sure how this was going to work but trusted that Lincoln would remain true to his word.

And he did.

_Holy FUCK!_

_Blood. So much fuckin' blood! Evereywhere! Ha ha! Perfect! Ohhhhh man, this is just…ahhhhhhh. C'mon you bastard. Come and get me! I'm waitin' for ya. _

_Bodies, bodies, everywhere. Some over here and some over there. Pentagrams, hexagrams, circles and squares, looks like the freakin' Satanists Labor Day fair. The devil himself couldn't have done a better job! So beautiful. So fuckin' perfect._

_Oh he's just gonna hate this. Ha! Come and get me._

_Come and fuck me!_

_FUCKER! C'MON!_

_Wait…I hear footsteps. Whosthat? Whosthere?_

"_Shit! What the hell? Lincoln! __**What the fuck did you do!"**_

_Can't stop it now. Tidal wave's a-comin'. We're all gonna die._

"_Is that…Christ it's the mayor! Lincoln…where's his skin?"_

_Look under your feet Davey-boy. You're standin' on it. _

"_Lincoln he's going to kill you."_

_Don't I know it? Ha ha ha!_

"_Do you understand what I'm saying? He will kill you this time. Shit! Children! Oh fuck…"_

_Whatsamatter Davey? Never seen Kiddy-bits before? Oh come on you dick. Don't be a tenderfoot on me now! Oh no you don't, don't you go heavin' on my artwork. _

"_Toddlers Lincoln? Toddlers?"_

_I even went for some veal too. Tasted pretty darn good too. Too bad there's none left for you. _

"_What the hell is the matter with you? Are you insane?"_

_Fingers and toes. Lookit their liddle toes Dave. Ever seen such little toes before? Aren't they just the cutest lil' bits you ever seen before? Dontcha wanna just eat 'em up?_

"_Lincoln what is that?"_

"_What are you holding?"_

_Such little bits. So easy to loose. Little appetizers. Hmmm…kinda reminds me of those finger weenies. _

"_Oh god. Oh god…you didn't."_

_God's got nothin' to do with this. Or maybe he does. I dunno._

_C'mon Davey-boy! Go long!_

"_JESUS!"_

_Whatsamatter Dave? Never played baby football before? It's an All-American sport! All-American! HEW WEEEE!_

_Pansy assed bastard. _

"_Lincoln get out of here!"_

_Now why would I wanna do a thing like that? I'm a-waitin'…still waiting. _

_Where is the fucker? Doesn't take this long to get busted. _

_Busted. I'm waiting to get busted. The Boys back home will never believe me. _

"_Did you hear me you asshole? GET LOST! NOW! GO!"_

_Hmmm, maybe these tracks could use a bit more red. Not enough red. I ran outta red. Gotta get some more. It's gotta be perfect. Just perfect. _

_Hmmmmmmmm…wanna lend me a hand brother dear? _

"_Lincoln!" _

_Blech! Knew he wasn't a real blonde. Blondes always taste better. _

_Oh, wait…about fuckin' time!_

_Here's to you Mr. Robinson! _

_UP YOURS! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Fucker._

_Oh fuck! Here it comes! YEEE HAW! BRING ON THE HEAT! ROCK ME LIKE A FUCKIN' HURRICANE! I DON'T GIVE A DAMN!_

**Slash**

_DIE!_

_MOTHER_

_FUCKER_

**Snap**

_DIE_

**Crack**

_DIE_

**Rip**

_DIE_

**Tear**

_It…that…best…you…got?_

_DIE_

**Bash**

_DIE_

**BASH**

_DIE_

**BASH!**

_DIE_

**WHAM!**

**BAMN!**

**THANK YOU MA'AM!**

_I gottcha now you bleeder. I gottcha now! You're gonna burn!_

_Do it! Do IT! DO IT! That's it…thaaaaaaaat's it. C'mon and do it you bastard. I know ya wanna! Ya wanna! C'mon! C'mon!_

_Here it comes…wait…no, nope. Not yet. Damn. _

_God you're an ugly bastard. Oh yeah? You go on laughin'. Cunt!_

_Hey! Where ya goin'? Get back here! KILL ME DAMN IT! _

_YOU __**FUCKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!**_

Sarah's eyes flew open as she shoved Lincoln away from her as hard as she could. Clamping a hand to her mouth she literally rolled off the car and landed on the ground just as everything she had ingested over an hour ago came pouring out of her like a vampiric version of Niagara Falls.

"Yep, that was David's reaction too. I could never forget that part." Lincoln said in a shaky voice as he ran his hands through his hair and when he lowered them he saw that his palms were covered in a thin sheen of bloody sweat.

"Impossible." Sarah gasped before another wave of nausea gripped her. Partially digested blood soaked the dry ground around her an inch deep before she struggled to her feet, half-covered in her own vomit. It wasn't a pretty sight.

"It's all true. Everything you saw did happen. I warned you." Lincoln wiped his hands on his thighs in order to dry them off. He looked just as pale and rattled as Sarah only he was having a better time at collecting his nerves. Sarah just couldn't stop staring at Lincoln with eyes as wide as saucers.

"You couldn't have survived that! He…shit Lincoln he literally took you apart!" Sarah exclaimed unable to believe Lincoln had somehow manage to survive the beating of the century. It was beyond a beating. It was more like being drawn and quartered with a railroad spike. God, just thinking about it made Sarah want to heave again. What Lincoln had done with the bodies of twenty people, toddlers and babies included, paled in comparison to the punishment that Max had dished out. Not only had he wiped the floor with Lincoln but Max had also taken off limbs, disemboweled Lincoln and hung him with his own entrails before beating the shit out of him with a discarded metal pipe.

Sarah had pulled herself out of the memory before she could witness what had happened after that. She honestly didn't want to know.

"Seen enough? Cause there's more." Lincoln said but Sarah just shook her head quickly. "So, you thinkin' about takin' Max on now? Do you really want to?"

"_Why don't we find out Lincoln?"_

"BACK OFF YO…," Lincoln's snarl was cut off when a baseball bat slammed into the back of his skull, sending him head over heels onto the ground. Paul let out a victorious whoop as he wielding the bat aloft and slammed it down again, this time right into Lincoln's stomach.

"Paybacks a bitch huh!" Paul snarled as he reached down and grabbed Lincoln by his hair. Marko appeared by his side a moment later and grabbed Lincoln's legs while carrying a lead pipe under his arm. Together the two lifted the stunned vampire and hauled him away from his car and down the road a bit so that they would have enough room to work Lincoln over with as much finesse that they could manage in the short time that had.

"Lincoln!!!!" Sarah screamed and that scream turned into a surprised screech when an arm snaked out of nowhere and wrapped around her throat.

"He can't hear you." David hissed into Sarah's ear as he clamped his hand over her mouth and yanked her off her feet before she could attempt to kick him. Caught completely off-guard and by surprise, Sarah reacted a few seconds too slow and that gave David enough time to wrestle her to the ground and pin her under him.

"What are you doing! David let me go! Leave Lincoln alone!" Sarah gasped as David grabbed her right arm and pulled back the sleeve of her jean jacket. Sarah tried in vain to gouge at David's eyes with her nails but he had anticipated the move and blocked it. "Lincoln! Help!"

"Oh shut up!" David snapped and when Sarah tried to sink her teeth into his arm he just lost it and slapped her. Hard. "Boys! Hurry up!"

"Don't worry about us man. Just do what you gotta do. We're good!" Marko shouted back as Paul chuckled darkly. It had been about a minute and already Lincoln looked like he had been run over by a truck. Thanks to David's meticulous planning and timing, they had managed to sneak up on Sarah and Lincoln while the two were sharing some sort of mental-bond thing and it almost seemed easy as they dished out some serious punishment. They weren't there to kill Lincoln. David had made that clear. They couldn't kill him outside of Santa Carla. Hell they weren't even allowed to leave the Santa Carla border without permission from Max so them being here was strictly off the books. But David never said anything about cracking Lincoln's skull in two.

"I wish I could kill this fucker now!" Paul growled as he swung the bat and grinned when he heard the meaty smack along with the familiar crack of broken ribs.

"You'll get him tomorrow Paul. Now we just have to make sure he gets the message." Marko slammed his pipe down once, twice, three times and was finally rewarded with the beautiful sound of Lincoln's cannon bone breaking in three different spots.

"Still don't make it fair." Paul muttered as he used to foot to flip Lincoln onto his stomach. "He ain't even fightin' back."

"That's because you knock him into next week when you hit him over the head. I told you not to hit him that hard." Marko reminded Paul as the two worked on pulverizing Lincoln's spine.

"I got caught up in the moment." Paul grinned as he tap-danced down Lincoln's back and jumped onto the back of Lincoln's legs. Man that was going to hurt like hell tomorrow.

"Yeah well do you want him to be able to stand tomorrow?" Marko pointed out as he grabbed Paul and hauled him off of Lincoln. "We're good."

"Fine. But he's mine tomorrow." Paul growled and Marko just rolled his eyes. They had already gone over this ten times and still Paul kept reminding Marko of what he already knew.

"I know Paul. Grab his other arm." Marko tossed his piece of pipe away as he grabbed Lincoln's right arm. Paul shouldered his bloodied bat and yanked Lincoln's left arm up none too gently and the two dragged Lincoln back to the Chevelle. It had taken them under four minutes to do the work of ten.

"He won't be happy when he wakes up." Paul grinned at David once he and Marko had propped Lincoln up beside the trunk of the car. Paul couldn't help but admire the Chevelle from the angle he was standing at. It was one hell of a machine. Pity. With a cheerful whistle Paul whipped out a switchblade that he had brought with him for this specific occasion and while Marko looked on, Paul began to deface the Chevelle's immaculate pain job.

"Hey Marko, how do you spell Cunt?" Paul laughed as he engraved the word into the driver's door.

"Don't forget to asshole Paul. Cause after all, he is a major asshole." Marko smirked and gave Lincoln's battered form a swift kick just for the hell of it.

"Yes sir!" Paul barked in a mock salute as he whirled around in a spinning kick and knocked the driver's side mirror clean off. Ohhhhh Lincoln was going to hate that! Booyeah!

"Are you two finished yet?" David asked as he rose to his feet and slung Sarah over his shoulder. She was a limp and lifeless as Lincoln but not battered, bruised or bleeding.

"Just about." Paul said as he quickly scrawled his name into the front chrome bumper with a skillful flourish. There would be no getting it out now.

"How'd you shut her up so fast?" Marko asked David curiously. They all knew from experience that Sarah never went down easy. "Did you drain her?"

"No. If I did then the baron would know about it. They're too closely bonded now and the last thing we need is for him to be aware of this." David explained as he dug his hand into his coat pocket and took out an empty syringe that he had borrowed from Paul. "A large enough dose of a chloral hydrate cocktail is strong enough to knock out almost any vampire. And she's a lightweight."

"So you used the date-rape drug on her? Dude, I never would have thought of that." Paul whistled, highly impressed by David's tactful thinking skills.

"No kidding." David just rolled his eyes.

"And here come the cavalry. Right on time." Marko nodded to the two forms of Edgar and Tory who were running towards them from the highway.

"Alright. Remember, no one mentions that Sarah's one of us." David gave Paul a hard look as he laid Sarah down on the scratched hood of the car and waited.

"God….did you guys…have to park…your bikes so freaking far away?" Tory gasped as she and Edgar slowed to a walk once they got close enough to the car. Edgar was coughing and panting just as hard as Tory was, having not ran as far and as fast as he had since the sixth grade.

"Did you get him?" Edgar asked Marko and Paul and he got his answer in the form of twin cruel smirks. "Why'd I ask?"

"What's wrong with Tink?" Tory growled when she saw Sarah lying there on the hood of the car. She glared at David and her bandaged hand instantly crept towards her belt where she still carried the handgun. "What did you do to her?"

"Nothing. I didn't touch her. Boys?" David looked over at Marko and Paul, pulling off the whole innocent act.

"She was like this when we got here." Marko said, his naturally cherubic face made it impossible for Tory to figure out whether he was lying or not. Paul just nodded his head and wisely kept his trap shut.

"Then why is she like that? What's wrong with her?" Tory asked, not satisfied with their answer and still suspected foul play. After all these guys were vampires, she couldn't trust them as far as she could throw them.

"Probably because she's in an induced sleep." David remarked offhandedly as he casually fiddled with his gloves, not looking the least bit guilty. "Vampires have the ability to do that you know."

"I know that!" Tory snorted as she glared at David. They locked eyes for a moment before Tory turned and gave Edgar a questioning glance. He was the vampire expert after all.

"It's true." Edgar nodded his head as he carefully kept his distance from David and moved around him so he could get a look at Lincoln. "Jesus. You guys go all out."

If Edgar hadn't known that Lincoln was already one of the undead he would have thought that the guy had been beaten to death.

"Every time." Paul leered as he flashed Edgar a toothy grin while he twirled the bloodied baseball bat in his hands. Edgar swallowed hard and quickly looked away.

"So what do you want us to do?" Tory asked, getting down to business. The sooner they did what the vampires wanted them to do, the sooner they could get back to Santa Carla.

"Seal him in the trunk." David said and as he did, Marko and Paul quickly popped open the Chevelle's trunk and stuffed Lincoln into it with one or two extra jabs just for good measure.

"So that's why you wanted the holy water." Edgar said to David as he swung off his backpack and opened it. Inside were canisters of holy water and holy oil, enough to cover the entire body of the car if need be.

"That's right." David's face remained expressionless as he unconsciously took a few steps back when Edgar and Tory grabbed the canisters. It was a natural reaction that all vampires had to the stuff but Edgar and Tory didn't seem to notice as they closed the trunk and began to pour the blessed water over it. When Lincoln regained consciousness there would be no way for him to get out and with the car parked in the middle of nowhere away from the highway, Lincoln would bake in the confines of his own trunk while the Californian sun scorched away. He wouldn't die from it but after the beating that Marko and Paul had dealt him, Lincoln was going to be more than miserable. Inwardly David applauded his own cleverness as he watched Edgar switch to holy oil and began to rub it into the cracks for extra security.

"Well this sucker's not getting out any time soon." Tory said once she and Edgar had finished their forth canister of holy water.

"Good. Make sure you get the stuff off your hands before you meet us back at the bikes." David said as he fixed the two with a serious look in order to make sure that they got his meaning. If they didn't then he and the others would simply leave them here to fend for themselves and find their own way back home. And it was one hell of a long walk.

"Paul, Marko." David nodded towards the highway and the two understood. With identical smug expressions on their faces, Paul strutted off while Marko muttered something under his breath and followed him. David was the last to leave as he carefully picked up Sarah while being x-rayed under Tory's baleful stare. The two locked eyes for the last second and there was something in the way that David regarded Tory that sent an icy chill down her spine. She didn't know what it was but she felt as if David had something hanging over her. It was a feeling that she didn't like in the least bit.

When David had gone out of hearing range, Edgar and Tory turned to each other.

"Figured out how to kill these guys yet?" Tory asked as Edgar handed her a water bottle and a torn rag for her to use as a towel.

"I'm working on it." Edgar muttered low under his breath as he tried to scrub the holy oil out of his cuticles.

"Well you better work on it faster. We helped them and they found Tink. Now our truce is over. It's almost sunrise so I don't think that they'll try anything just yet but you never know." Tory hissed as she opened the water bottle and poured half of it into her uninjured hand.

"I packed extra just incase they try to dump us on the way back. But something tells me that they'll make their move tomorrow night." Edgar squinted as he tried to spot David's retreating form in the darkness.

"Well we're going to make ours tomorrow. We know where they sleep and come sun-up we are going to dust their sorry asses. I'm not taking any chances around David. That guy gives me the creeps." Tory wiped her wet hand along her leg before she readjusted the make-shift bandaged on her right hand.

"Fine by me. Allan's gone back to the base to get whatever else we have so we should be set by the time these guys are asleep." Edgar quickly dried off his hands and began to shove everything back into his backpack as fast as possible. As much as he disliked riding with vampires, he did not feel comfortable being left alone in the middle of nowhere beside a car that had an unconscious one imprisoned in the trunk.

Tory nodded her head when a sudden wave of lightheadedness came over her out of the blue. One second she was perfectly fine and the next she felt like she was floating.

"Hey, you okay?" Edgar asked as he shouldered his pack and grabbed her arm to steady her.

"Huh? Yeah…yeah I'm fine. Just tired." Tory shook her head to try to clear it. Edgar didn't look convinced. "Hey, give me a break. I shot a guy and almost killed another tonight. It's been a long day."

"Well if it happens again, let me know. These vampires could be trying to play mind games on us." Edgar warned her before they set off in the direction of the highway.

Deep down inside something told Tory that it wasn't mind games that she had to be worried about.

When Edgar and Tory finally made it to where the bikes were parked, the vampires were already saddled up and ready to go. Sarah was still out cold and was settled in front of David so that he could steer while keep a hold of her.

"Took you guys long enough." Paul snorted as he sat back on his bike and drummed is fingers against the leather seat, tapping out a Ramones tune that was blaring away in his head.

Edgar bit back a response as he cautiously climbed onto the back of Marko's bike. It was six hours ago that the guy had almost killed him and now Edgar found himself hanging into the guy for dear life. Talk about a sick irony but there was nothing he could do about it. He just had to grit his teeth and bare it like a man. He kept asking himself what would Rambo do?

Paul grinned his cheeky wolfish grin and scooted forward when Tory swung her leg over the back of his bike. He didn't even bother trying to hide the fact that he was enjoying this.

"Looks like you've done this before." Tory commented quietly as she glanced over at Sarah. Her spidey senses were still tingling and her gut was telling her that she was probably right. And her gut was never wrong.

David slowly turned his head around and shot Tory a look that would have made any sane person run. Without a word he kicked his bike to life and sped off and was quickly followed by Marko before Paul brought up the rear.

"_You don't fool me."_ Tory thought to herself as she hugged Paul tighter when he increased his speed and swerved into the oncoming lane for the hell of it. If Ian had been there he would have probably freaked out but secretly Tory found riding shotgun to a vampire on an honest-to-god motorcycle to be one hell of a speed trip. It was like playing with fire but then again she was a pyromaniac. It felt _good._


	14. What the Fuck was that!

**Hey Sportsfans!**

**H'okay. Here's the downlow. I haven't been able to write for more than two hours over the past month due to a number of random reality issues concerning a disgruntled house guest, serious drama damage control, a play emergency and the news of an upcoming Italian wedding. If you've ever watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding, you'll know what I mean. So here are the next two chapters and I'll be cranking out the rest by the end of this month. I vowed to have this thing done before summer started and it will be. **

**And I've actually figured out how the last few pages end and all I can say is that there's never been an LB fiction ending like it. sniffles Praise be to the Man of Mystery that'll be revealed then. I swear I had tears if joy in my eyes when the ending hit me like a train. I hope you enjoy these next two chapters and expect the last installment shortly. You can email me and yell at me all you like about getting this thing done. I work better when I have a torch under my tail. **

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

"Tory…hey Tory! Hold on a sec." Edgar's gruff voice was barely audible over the crashing surf that erupted from the bottom of the cliff face. He and Tory had arrived more or less in one piece after an insane fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants-holy-crap-we're-gonna-die joy ride that the vampires had taken them on. Despite the solid land that he now stood on Edgar couldn't help but feel a little green around the gills. Who would have guessed that the future Rambo II was prone to motion sickness? Roller coasters and now motorcycles were a major source of nausea for the militaristic teen and he thanked his lucky stars that he had managed to keep down the two corn dogs he had for dinner. He didn't think that he would ever have gotten over the humiliation if he had horked in front of a group of blood-thirsty hellions.

"What?" Tory huffed as she slowed down and waited for Edgar to catch up to her.

"Whose side are you playing for?" Edgar growled low as he cut his jog to a walk so that he matched Tory stride for stride.

"What?" Tory looked at Edgar and didn't know what the hell he was going on about.

"Back there you didn't seem to mind the fact that you were hanging off a vampire. It was like you were enjoying it. Were you? You thinking about joining the fang gang now?" Edgar gave her an accusatory glare as he swung around in front of her to block her path. Even though he had kept his eyes shut tight throughout the trip back to Santa Carla, Edgar couldn't help but overhear Tory's yips of excitement as the vampires preformed some seriously stupid stunts that would have gotten any mortal man a one-way ticket to morgue central.

"Excuse me?" Tory was completely taken aback. What the hell was he going on about? "I just saved your ass from being vamp food about two hours ago and you're accusing me of being a traitor? Edgar if you're having confidence issues don't take it out on me. I've got better things to do with my time."

"Oh yeah? Like flirting with the enemy? I'm not blind Tory, I saw what went on." Edgar scowled as he stepped to the left and then to the right to keep Tory from stepping around him. He wasn't going to let this go until he knew for certain where Tory stood.

"Ya know that's kinda funny. It must have been real difficult for you, seeing that you had your eyes closed the entire time." Tory snapped back as she crossed her arms and glared at the Frog. Now she was getting annoyed. Didn't this guy have anything better to do with his time than wag the accusatory finger at her for no good reason other than the fact that he was going through serious estrogen envy because it was a girl who had saved his neck from being chewed on?

"I just want to make sure than you're with us all the way because come sunrise things are going to get nasty and I don't want to have to take you out if you try to defend your new boyfriend." Edgar ground his teeth together as he fingered the well-worn handle of his knife out of sheer habit.

"My what?" Tory snorted as she glanced over Edgar's shoulder to check out Paul who was standing head to head with Marko in what looked to be a deep conversation. "Edgar you really need to learn how to pick your fights. So I enjoyed myself. Big deal, it's not the end of the freaking world you twat. Excuse me for not having a fragile stomach like you."

"My stomach has nothing to do with this." Edgar seethed. She wasn't taking this seriously. Why wasn't she taking this seriously? The fate of mankind practically rested on their shoulders and instead of preparing herself for war she was too busy making goo-goo eyes at the guy who was Jay Jay French's clone. What the hell was it with girls and bikers?

"Whatever Edgar. I'm tired and I'm not going to deal with this right now. I've had just about enough of you tonight so if you'll excuse me I have to go find Tink…Sarah…whatever." Tory rolled her eyes and jammed her shoulder into Edgar's chest to push him out of her way. She was tired of being nice. All she wanted to do was find a nice cozy heap of blankets and hide in them. Usually after an adrenalin-fueled ride like the one Paul had put her through Tory would have been bouncing off the walls but now she just felt dead on her feet. God who knew that shooting someone could take so much out of a person?

"I'm warning you Tory, you better get your priorities straight and fast. I don't think Ian's gonna like this much." Edgar called out to her as she walked towards the wooden stairwell that led down to the base of the cliff. Tory didn't bother responding to Edgar. Instead she stuck her middle finger high in the air and Edgar got the message.

Paul and Marko quickly ended their hushed conversation as Tory approached them. Paul gave Marko a knowing look as he lazily fiddled with the spiked bracelets on his left wrist and waited. Sure enough Tory made the first move.

"You ride good." Tory nodded at Paul's bike as she came to a stop about five feet from him. Marko hid a smirk that threatened to show itself as he turned around and headed for stairs in order to leave the two alone to chat it up by the bikes. No one seemed to notice him leave. The trap had been set and it looked like Tory was about to take the bait. All they had to do was wait and see what would happen.

"Oh yeah?" Paul cocked his head slightly to the side and the devilish smirk on his face was enough to make Tory's head spin and Edgar's blood boil. He had heard everything that had just gone down between the Frog and Tory and now he had the chance to play devil's advocate, which was a role that he was born to do. And he had to admit it, he did it very well.

"Your friend over there doesn't seem too happy." He said with a slight arch of an eyebrow. Hmmmmm. Now it was time to raise the stakes a bit. Paul turned up the vampire charm just a tad to see what type of reaction he would get from her. David's blood was doing its job, just as David had predicted. Sure she wasn't going to float off the ground any time soon but already Paul could pick up on the slight changes that were hidden from the naked eye. It was all in the scent. God ya just gotta love animal chemistry.

"Yeeeaaaah….," Tory just stared at him for a moment, completely out of it as if her brain had suddenly gotten up and walked away.

_What had he said? God who cares! Just look at those…wait a sec_….

She knew that he was good looking but why did she suddenly have the urge to jump his bones?

_That would be stupid cause he was a…a…what? What was he again? What am I thinking? Thinking? Why the hell am I thinking? I shouldn't think. I should act. Yeah, that would be good. God he's hot! Maybe he tastes just as good as he looked? Oh yeah…_

Tory inhaled sharply as she half-closed her eyes and she could actually smell him from where she was standing. He smelt like the wind and a hundred hard-core rock parties all rolled into one. To her it was a strong cologne but only more seductive rather than nauseating.

_Oh Wow. _

As Tory had this mental conversation with herself she hadn't realized that Paul had kept right on talking as if nothing had changed. It just proved how well of an actor Paul was when he wanted to be.

"Honestly I don't know why you're hanging around with that chump. It can't be for the kicks." Paul flashed a lazy devil-may-care smile in Edgar's direction, knowing full well that the Frog was eavesdropping on the conversation.

"I don't….I….huh?" Tory's eyes were latched onto Paul's mouth and she couldn't stop staring even as a little voice deep in the back of her brain started to pipe up. Something about this just wasn't right but who the hell cared?

Tory took a step forward and when Paul didn't move she moved in a little closer. He wasn't going to hurt her. She had the gun so if he tried anything…yeah, she'd be ready.

_Wait…ready for what?_

"I gotta say I'm kinda impressed with you." Paul lowered his voice so that it was barely an audible grumble. The shudder that ran through Tory was exactly what he expected. The ladies just couldn't get enough of him when he amped up the good stuff and he knew how to push the right buttons whenever he felt like playing with his food. But Tory wasn't food, well not yet anyway. "I mean with the bullets and all."

"Ya…bullets." Tory nodded her head as she stopped about a foot away from Paul. A gust of wind blew out over the water but the sudden rush of cold air didn't faze her at all. Her brain just didn't seem to register it. All she could see and care about with the guy in front of her. But he wasn't a guy. He couldn't be. He was a something…a…um….

"_Ya think I can take a look at the gun?"_

Tory blinked once but she didn't notice that Paul's mouth hadn't moved as she heard his voice whisper to her. Instinctively she paused for a second as that little voice shouted out again but it was just too far away to hear clearly. Screw it. She could show him the gun but she wouldn't let him hold it. Yeah, that was good enough. She was right to be cautious.

Paul had to hold back a triumphant smile, least he gave the game away. Tory slowly nodded her head and reached for the gun that was tucked into her belt. All he needed to do was to get his hands on that gun and then it would be smooth sailing for the rest of the night.

_**Snap!**_

"Huh?" Tory blinked as Edgar's fingers suddenly appeared in front of her face. Whoa where did that come from and why did it suddenly smell like garlic?

"Don't look him in the eye!" Edgar snarled in her ear as he grabbed her elbow and dragged as far away from Paul as he could in three steps. Tory was too overwhelmed to resist and it gave Edgar just enough time for him to plant himself between her and Paul with enough room to maneuver if Paul had any ideas.

"Nice try bloodsucker but it won't work." He growled as he clenched his hand around the worn handle of his knife. The message couldn't have been clearer if Edgar had suddenly burst out into song about what his knife would do if Paul didn't back off right then.

Instead of being annoyed or intimidated, Paul just snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. "What won't?"

Edgar glared right at him but had enough sense to stare at his forehead rather than at his eyes. He knew exactly what Paul was up to. In every horror comic that he had ever read there had always been reference to the hypnotic powers of the vampire's stare.

Rule number five in the vampire hunter's rule book stated that once you looked them in the eye you were toast.

"Don't try to play innocent with me. I know what you're trying to do. And she's not interested." Edgar squared his shoulders and tried to look as tough as he possibly could but standing next to Paul there was just no way that the Rambo-wannabe could look intimidating enough to be taken seriously.

"I dunno man. She sure looks like it." Paul smirked and nodded at Tory, who responded to his slight action with a huge smile as if he had just offered her the word on a silver plate.

Internally Paul was laughing his ass off as he revved up the sex vibe just a little more. He could taste Tory's excitement around him as she stared at him moonstruck which wasn't all that becoming of the tough-as-nails teen. Tory was a girl who prided herself for being able to hold her own against the big dogs and yet here she was, practically drooling at his feet as he just stood there and looked good doing it. God it was just too freaking easy.

Even though he had no way of sensing what Paul was doing a red alert suddenly went off in Edgar's head. His hunting instinct had kicked in and somehow Edgar knew that the tables had somehow been turned in Paul's favor.

"_Uh oh."_ Edgar thought as Tory suddenly tried to move past him in order to get to Paul. Edgar didn't dare turn his back on the vampire but the more he tried to keep Tory away, the harder she started to resist him. He shot Paul another hate-filled glare but the vampire just flashed him a wicked smile and for a second Edgar could have sworn that he saw fangs. This was _not_ good.

"_Oh crap! What do I do? Allan where the hell are you!"_ Edgar mentally cursed as Tory hit him in the back of the head as he shoved his elbow into her stomach in order to keep her back. Things were getting rough and Edgar knew he had to do something and fast. He didn't want to turn around but he couldn't keep holding Tory back like this so he did the only thing he could think of. He turned around and…

**Slap!**

He had put all of his weight into the blow and Tory stumbled backwards before she landed in an undignified heap as he stood there still not believing that he had just slapped the girl who had saved his life.

Tory sat there frozen for a second as Edgar sheepishly looked at his upraised hand but quickly lowered it and straightened his shoulders. Drastic times called for drastic actions and Edgar knew he was in the right. It had been the right thing to do, even if he wasn't at all comfortable with hitting a girl but he wasn't going to show it.

Rule eight of the vampire hunter's rule book was to always look tough in the presence of the enemy.

"Did…did you just _hit_ me?" Tory's voice had a razor edge to it that could have cut glass but at least she was back to normal.

Edgar just blinked.

It worked. He, Edgar Frog, had actually managed to snap her out of Paul's trance. He had beaten Paul at his own game. _Holy Crap Batman with a capital C and B_! It actually worked for once! He had managed to save Tory from being a mindless sex drone. She may have saved him from Marko's lethal bite and now he had saved her from being turned into Paul's brainless sex slave so in his books they were even. Hell man, he was a freaking hero!

Yet….Tory didn't quite see it that way.

"You _son-of-a-_bitch!" Tory seethed as she sprang to her feet and launched herself at him with fists flying. Before Edgar knew it her fist was in his face and he saw stars. Lots of them.

"No one hits me! Got it! No one!"

Paul honestly had to hold back a gleeful cackle as he watched the wannabe vampire killer groan while he clutched his nose with his hands. The coopery scent of blood bloomed into the nigh air and Paul drooled just a bit before Tory kicked Edgar in the ribs as she vented her pent-up frustration. This couldn't have gone any better if he had planned it.

"_God I'm good."_

"Don't you ever touch me again! You jerk! You stupid, pathetic loser! You're a loser! A loser! You're all fucking losers!"

Tory's sudden jolt back to reality land had done one of two things. It made her uncomfortably aware of what had just happened and she seethed inwardly at having acted like such a slutbag. However the fact that Edgar had stepped in and stopped her from doing something really stupid was ignored as her cheek stung from where his hand had struck her. That smarting sting was enough to rip off the band-aid of an old wound that never quite healed properly. Suppressed memories of a darker time in her life exploded to the surface of Tory's mind and Edgar had no idea how his not quite valiant attempt at a rescue had put him in the line of fire.

"You broke my nose! Tory stop! Tory!" Edgar ducked his head between his arms as he quickly rolled onto his back in a curled up fetal position so that Tory's wild jabs and kicks missed anything vital. His words just bounced off her as she continued to try to stomp his head into the ground.

Edgar knew that he had to do something before one of her kicks actually landed on someplace it had no business landing on. Swearing loudly Edgar reached out to snag her upraised ankle and yanked as hard as he could. Tory tipped over with a screech but that didn't stop her. In a flash she was on him with her fists failing in every direction.

"Asshole! I'll teach you never to touch me again! Get the hell away from me you freak!" Tory shouted as her punches rained down on Edgar's shoulders and arms as he kept himself in an armadillo-like crouch and waited for his chance to pin her down.

"Tory! He's controlling you! Stop!" Edgar yelped as he pushed her away with his legs. He was getting nowhere with this. He had to figure out another way to stop Tory before she did something that they would both regret.

As the scuffle continued Paul stood aside and watched it happen. Curious as ever he couldn't help but take a small peek inside Tory's mind to see what had set her off. Usually girls would just scream and cry whenever they were hit, not fly into a killer rage over it.

"_Well that sure as hell explains a lot."_

Paul shook his head as he watched the two teens scrap it out in the dirt three feet away from him.

"_What does?_"

Paul rolled his eyes. Typical David. He had to know exactly what was going on. Heaven forbid the guy should leave him alone for two minutes to get something done.

"_Paul…you want some cheese with that whine?"_

"_Actually I would. Thanks for asking."_

"_What's going on?"_

"_Dinner and a show."_

"_What? What's the hell is happening up there?"_

"_Chill out man. It's nothing. Mini Wonder Woman is just PMSing. Seems that those foster daddies of hers weren't very nice to her. Don'tcha just love the child care system?"_

"_Oh that's just beautiful. Another problem child."_

"_Hey man, this was your idea not mine."_

"_Shut up Paul."_

"_Hah, make me. Owww. David you gotta get up here and see this."_

"_I'm a little busy Paul. Where the hell are those chains? Why can't I find anything around here!"  
_

"_Heh, the brats are killing each other. Ouch! That's gotta hurt."_

Paul actually laughed as he watched Edgar curl up like a worm on a hook as Tory's boot nailed him in the kill zone. This was almost as good as watching a thrown WWF match on Pay-Per-View. Almost.

Neither of the teens seemed to remember that he was right there, leaning on his bike and enjoying every minute of their little fight. Edgar couldn't seem to shake Tory out of whatever rage she was in and Tory didn't seem to realize what she was doing to the Frog brother.

Paul crossed his arms and stepped back a bit when Edgar flung Tory in his direction. Hey, he wasn't getting in the middle of this. He'd wait until they tired of beating each other to death before he made his move.

"_Dave we should do this more often."_

"_Do what? Paul, what'd I miss now."_

"_Marko, Feisty Chick just kicked Baby Sly in the nads man."_

"_Hah, loser."_

"_Tell me about it. Oh, oh there she goes!"_

"_What?"_

"_You picked a real live wire here David. This chick's dirty!"_

"_Right up your alley huh Paul?"_

"_You better believe it man."_

David's mental sigh interrupted his train of thought just before he could start getting dirty. Paul actually felt Marko snicker in his mind even though the vampire was nowhere near him.

"_Stop them Paul. They're not use to me dead."_

"_Just a little longer. It's starting to get good."_

"_Paul."_

"_Whatever. She's not gonna vamp out any time soon anyways. Still needs more time."_

"_Yeah? Well that's something we don't have right now."_

"_Wait...can someone tell me again why we need those brats?"_

Paul snorted as he heard Marko's yelp over their mental connection. It looked like David was still pissy about having one pulled on him by a girl. It wasn't something that he was ever going to get over easily and Paul fully intended to use it against him in the future. But right now he had a job to finish.

"Alright you two break it up. Rambo's had enough ass-kicking for one night." Paul snickered as he moved towards the two squabbling teenagers and reached for the back of Tory's jacket. Edgar saw Paul's outline out of the corner of his eye and he lashed out with a booted foot, hoping to drive the vampire back as he struggled to pry Tory's hands from his hair.

"Get…the hell…away…from…us." Edgar growled as he rammed his elbow into Tory's chest with as much effort as he could muster. Tory let out a startled gasp as the blow knocked the air out of her lungs for a moment and for a split second Edgar thought he saw her eyes go all wonky.

"What the?" He murmured as Tory fell back with an "oomph". "I said _back off!_"

Paul ducked just in time to avoid the sharpened edge of the Frog's knife and he was lucky, that thing almost took his freaking nose off.

"Ohhh kid you are so stupid." Paul's voice hit rock bottom as he slowly straightened, his eyes searing in annoyance.

"Yeah?" Edgar challenged as he held the knife aloft with an expert hand, or as expert as one could get by practicing moves from the Rambo films.

"Yeah." Instead of charging at them in full fang, Paul just reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a switch blade. The wicked edge snapped into existence as Paul's thumb caressed the sweet spot and Edgar swallowed hard as the blade gleamed brightly in the vampire's hand. That knife fit perfectly in Paul's hand and he didn't have to do a thing. His stance said it all.

Paul had been through his share of bar brawls and alley fights during his human years and the only reason why he remained in one piece was the fact that he knew how to use a knife. Before he got his fangs Paul's knife skills were enough to make people think twice about getting on his bad side.

And Edgar was no exception. "We're so out of here."

A smirk crept onto Paul's face as he watched Edgar wheel around, grab Tory by the back of her jacket and yanked her to her feet.

"Get your hands off me." Tory protested but Edgar didn't bother telling her off. His survival instincts were on red alert and he knew that they had to get the hell away from the cliff and the vampire. Now was not the time to make a stand. Lucky for Edgar this instinct quirk would end up saving his skin more times than he would care to admit but that is a tale for another time.

"Move!" The urgency in his voice was strong enough to catch her attention. Tory paused for a moment in order to look over her shoulder as Edgar dragged her behind him as he half-sprinted in the direction of the Boardwalk and relative safety. When he felt her slow down Edgar yanked her forward and Tory tripped over her own feet. It was Edgar's frantic grip on her jacket that kept her upright and he didn't give her a chance to regain her balance. The Frog's adrenaline kick was so high that he just kept steamrolling towards the Boardwalk and Tory had to struggle to keep up with him which was kind of amazing seeing that Edgar hadn't done this much physical activity since he was twelve. But when faced in a life or death by vampire situation, the human body can do amazing things.

"_Be seein' you real soon."_

'What?" Tory looked at Edgar as she heard a voice whisper in her ear but it couldn't have been him. His jaw was clenched and he was breathing heavily to the point where he looked ready to collapse from the effort.

"I said move!" Edgar choked on the words as he kept on going. He didn't dare look over his shoulder to see if Paul was following. This was the second time that evening where he had to turn tail and run from the vampires. He kept that fact to himself but his face burned red with shame. Some vampire killer he turned out to be. He was a joke.

Paul waited until the kids well off in the distance before he calmly snapped the blade back into itself and tucked it away in his pocket. God he couldn't wait until tomorrow night. He was going to have one hell of a time with those Frog kids.

"Well, did you get it?" Marko asked as he landed neatly beside Paul and jostled him a bit, mirroring the head-banger vampire's cocky smirk. Marko had made himself scarce in order to let Paul do his thing but he had seen the tail end of the little scrap from the air. He just had to see it for himself.

"Check it out." Paul chuckled as he reached down and used the tails of his jacket to pick up the gun that Tory had accidentally dropped during the cock fight between her and Edgar. "I swear man, kids are so fucking stupid."

Marko nodded in agreement. First those brats barge into their cave and then they try to stand up against them. Against vampires. How stupid could you be? Honestly.

"So we have the gun. But that doesn't mean they still won't try something during the day." Paul mused out loud as he looked the deadly weapon over, taking care not to touch the steel with bare skin.

"_They won't."_

"Oh yeah. How can you be so sure?" Paul asked out loud as David's voice drifted on the wind.

"_Because by mid-day they'll have other things to worry about."_

Paul and Marko exchanged a look and shared the crocodile smile as they high-fived one another.

It was just too easy.


	15. A Little Less Conversation

**Heyp Sportsfans!**

**And here's the second half of the teaser chapter. I had to pay tribute to the film _Near Dark_ and so I decided to throw in a classic way-side diner bloodbath that is found in almost every cult B-grade horror film. Lincoln wanted one so bad that I couldn't say no. And to all those who have yet to watch _Near Dark_, I suggest you go out and rent it. As in now. You can also watch the film in full on YouTube. Man what would I do without that site? Honestly, cha! Enjoy folks and don't forget to listen to some Elvis. Uh-huh huh!**

**P.S.: Don't forget to read Chapter 14!! **

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

"_Argh!_ Shit!" Lincoln hissed as he jammed his fingers into his mouth and sucked on them for a moment. He had been at it for two hours and still he couldn't seem to budge the trunk an inch and every time he tried to claw his way out of the thick steel his fingers began to smoke.

"Fuckers blessed the damn thing. Fuck!" Lincoln snarled as he carefully adjusted himself so that he was on his back. It was tight in the trunk of the Chevelle and he barely had any room to maneuver but that didn't stop him. Lincoln had to get out of the car even if it meant tearing it to pieces. Ohhhhhh just wait until he got his hands on David and is Fag Threesome. Lincoln was going to go ape-shit on their asses. No one locks him in his own trunk and gets away with it. No one!

"C'mon Baby….c'mon….," Lincoln gritted his teeth as he braced his aching shoulders and pushed the trunk lid with his hands and knees with everything he had. Metal creaked and groaned ominously but after a minute the car refused to release him.

"Goddamnit!" Lincoln slammed his fist into the side of the trunk with a vengeful curse.

He had regained consciousness sometime after sunrise and found himself trapped in a make-shift hellhole. Stuffed in his own trunk battered, bloodied and bruised he was helpless to do anything about it. The sun was barely high in the sky before outside temperatures reached a whopping 90 degrees. He was unable to avoid the slow and painful wait until nightfall thanks to his own god-damn insomnia so Lincoln had literally cooked away all day like a turkey in an oven. By the time night rolled around Lincoln was foaming at the mouth, madder than a hornet on hash, and when he discovered that the Lost Boys had sealed him in good by dosing his car in holy water and holy oil, well, Lincoln was ready to destroy something.

"Just you wait David, when I get hands on you there won't be enough left of ya to feed a fuckin' hell hound you son-of-a…" Lincoln swore as he balled his right hand into an iron fist and rammed it into the hood of the trunk. Instead of punching a hole right through the reinforced steel Lincoln let out a surprised yelp of pain as the car suddenly pitched to one side. Something large had collided into it. Before Lincoln could utter another colourful string of choice words another ear-ringing _wham_ rocked the muscle car before the trunk was wrenched open with a shrieking snap. Lincoln blinked sharply before he cautiously looked up into the face of his rescuer.

"_I'm dead._" A tiny voice whispered in the back of his mind as he reluctantly met Lucard's eyes and instantly looked away.

Can you say scary as fuck?

Lincoln saw death on Lucard's face and knew what was coming. He swallowed hard and didn't say a word as Lucard reached in and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. Lincoln winced but remained silent as Lucard yanked the battered vampire out of the trunk and threw him to the ground. A small yelp of pain shamefully escaped him when he landed hard on his back but other than that Lincoln didn't utter a single peep. Experience had taught him that saying and doing nothing was the best method to choose at a time like this. Whatever Paul and Marko did to him last night was going to be nothing compared to what Lucard was ready to dish out. Lincoln didn't have to look at the master vampire to know that Lucard was an inch away from loosing it completely. The ominous looking storm clouds overhead told him everything he needed to know.

"How could you be so careless?" The words came out soft and low but Lincoln flinched as if Lucard had struck him. He didn't dare respond.

"I warned you Lincoln. I told you what would happen if your stunts got out of hand. And now your amateurish behavior has involved Sarah. If you are willing to throw away your life for a pathetic vendetta then so be it but now your actions have drawn all of us in. You are well aware of what will happen now are you not?" Lucard's dark brown eyes reflected the silent flashes of premature lightning that speared the sky as he stood over Lincoln's cringing form. Lucard did not trust himself to keep control if he were to grab Lincoln and stand him up. If he did he was liable to crush his fledgling bodyguard like an empty soda can with a single surge of unchecked anger. It would not be the first time that a vampire had met his untimely end by Lucard's own hand in that way.

"Answer me."

Lincoln swallowed hard and nodded his head while keeping his head lowered. Groveling on his belly like a worm was the only option that Lincoln had and he didn't think twice about subjecting himself to complete and utter humiliation. Only this time it wasn't going to save his hide.

A deep guttural growl rumbled deep within Lucard's chest as he lashed out and planted his right foot on the back of Lincoln's head. Lincoln yelped as the bridge of his nose cracked but the sound was muffled as Lucard ploughed his face into the bone-dry dirt.

"Answer me."

"_Yes!"_

"_Yes what."_

"_Master. Yes master."_

Lincoln hadn't called Lucard by that title in over 15 years. In the beginning it was a requirement but over the years the two vampires had formed a close bond that went beyond social titles and ranks. Lucard and Lincoln had a more father-son relationship instead of the typical master and fledgling accord but now whatever had been forged over the years seemed to be forgotten as Lucard reminded Lincoln of his place on the bottom of the vampiric totem pole. It was a bitter pill for Lincoln to swallow and one that Lucard had no trouble ramming down his fledgling's throat.

"How many times have I warned you Lincoln? How many times have I fended off the wolves for your own misdoings? How many times have I interfered when justice had to be done on your account? How many times!" Lucard's hard voice held a gale storm of fury in it as he grabbed Lincoln once more by the back of his neck and hauled him off the ground. But he didn't stop there. Bright lights erupted in front of Lincoln's eyes as his teeth snapped painfully together when he crashed headlong into the side of his car leaving a mid-sized dent in the door where his skull had made contact with the reinforced metal.

"Too many!" Lucard's large calloused hand found Lincoln's throat and Lincoln didn't have it in him to gasp as the master vampire throttled the living day-lights out of him single-handedly. Sad thing was Lucard was just getting warmed up and they both knew it.

"This time Lincoln you will answer for you misdemeanors. I will no longer allow you to use me as a shield for your own protection. You will go into Santa Carla and you will find Sarah. When you do you will send her back to me. Is that understood? _Is that understood!_" Lucard bodily slammed Lincoln up against the Chevelle once more as he held his fledgling a few inches from his face so that Lincoln would see the true meaning of his words. There was no _bring her back _but only _send her back_. Lucard expected one vampire to make it out of Santa Carla that night and that vampire was not Lincoln.

Lincoln didn't struggle or put up any sort of resistance as he hung from Lucard's unforgiving grip. It wouldn't have done him any good. Instead Lincoln opened his eyes for a moment and locked gazes with the master vampire.

"Completely." Lincoln choked out the word. For a second he thought he saw a faint glimmer of remorse behind the old vampire's burning eyes. He probably imagined it though. Lucard was ready to kill Lincoln himself so why would sending him to his death be any different?

Lucard held Lincoln's gaze for a moment longer before he relaxed his death grip on Lincoln's throat. Lincoln instantly lowered his head in submission and remained frozen beside the car until Lucard stepped away and turned his back to him. The storm clouds overhead crackled and hissed with anticipation of the thunderstorm that was waiting to be unleashed. Already a biting westerly wind was beginning to pick up and the rancid smell of decaying fish and seawater tickled Lincoln's nose, even though he was a good few miles from the Pacific.

Gingerly touching his bruised throat, Lincoln eyed Lucard's broad back with some faint hope that Lucard would turn around and allow Lincoln to redeem himself. But no, the rigid set of Lucard's powerful shoulders told Lincoln that the master vampire was beyond giving him another chance. Lucard had often mentioned that one day the time would come when he could no longer protect Lincoln from the consequences of his various troublesome actions that constantly infuriated the vampire circles. Over the years Lincoln had made himself a number of potentially lethal enemies but by being under Lucard's protection Lincoln had thought himself untouchable. Indeed he was for there were no vampires that had enough nerve to try to take Lincoln out while Lucard lorded over him. But Lincoln never imagined that Lucard would so blatantly cast him aside for something as trivial as a few dead hookers and a bunch of pissed off underlings. Lincoln had done a hell of a lot worse to vampires that had some serious weight to them and Lucard had always stood by him then. What was so different now?

Lincoln tried to get an answer from the master vampire via their mental connection but it was a fruitless attempt. Lucard's mind was sealed off and Lincoln barely made a dent against his defenses. If Lucard even felt the mental nudge he didn't show it.

Standing there, just a few meters away from his lord and master, protector and mentor, Lincoln never felt so betrayed and alone.

Lucard remained motionless as the biting wind worked through his hair and tugged at his arms and legs. His stoic gaze was fixed on some distant point in the horizon as he listened to the unspoken words on Lincoln's lips. A nerve in his jaw twitched faintly as he forced himself to remain disconnected to his fledgling's inquiring pleas in the silence that surrounded them. The damage was done and not even Lucard could prevent what was to happen. The suffocating silence dragged on as the two vampires stood apart, neither willing to be the first to break from the moment. However, with a muffled sniff Lincoln ran his hands through his tangled hair and took his keys out of his back pocket.

Lucard's eyes closed as he listened to Lincoln curse quietly under his breath when he noticed the graffiti that Paul had etched on his car. The car door was opened and Lincoln hissed in pain as he gingerly lowered himself into the driver's seat. The wounds that he had obtained at the hands of Paul and Marko the night before were mostly healed but he was still sore in a number of places and having Lucard toss him against his car hadn't helped things either.

The slamming of the Chevelle's door hammered deep within the old vampire but he didn't turn around as the powerful LS-6 engine roared to life with a guttural snarl. The back tires kicked up a cloud of dirt and rock as Lincoln stomped on the accelerator and sped off towards the highway leaving Lucard alone in the middle of nowhere.

"I'm gonna get you for this David. Damn me if I don't." Lincoln swore to himself as he reached over the dashboard and picked up his darkly tinted aviator glasses. Despite the fact that it was almost as dark as pitch outside Lincoln donned the glasses in order to hide his eyes from view. Despite his best efforts Lincoln angrily swore at himself as he hastily ran the back of his hand under the rim of the sunglasses, wiping away the few tears that dared to show how much this was hurting him.

Imagine that, the world's biggest vampiric prick crying like some snot-nosed 6 year old because he was being sent to his death. God, he was getting soft. He had to be. There was no other reason that he would admit to. Lucard sending him into a proverbial hell on a silver platter didn't cut it. Feeling sorry for himself because he had been one "bad boy" was jack shit. No, he had to be getting soft. Maybe Sarah's emotional baggage was affecting him in some way. Yeah…yeah that was it.

"You're gonna pay." Lincoln snarled as his grip on the steering wheel tightened dangerously. If he was going to meet his Maker, he wasn't going alone. He'd take them all with him. Every last one of them. This was going to be his finest hour. "You're all gonna pay."

But first a words from the sponsors.

"_Is life getting you down? Do you feel like there's just no point anymore? Well that's cause it's a Monday folks! Don't let the early work-week blues get to you. DJ J.P Jones is all fired up and ready to go to work so here's a Golden Oldie to remind you all that the weekend isn't as far off as you'd think and don't let the Man keep you down." _

The Chevelle snarled like an angry tiger as Lincoln kept his foot on the gas, plowing up asphalt as he tore towards the Santa Carla border. Even the tinted surface of the aviators could not mask the vicious gleam of his eyes as he ground his teeth together, cursing David's name over and over again like a mantra.

Lincoln didn't fear death. He knew that he would never be lucky enough to live forever. Deep down Lincoln didn't want to live that long. God, immortality was great and all but from his end of the deal, it was starting to suck. Twenty years of sleepless days and blood soaked nights was enough to make any man stop and wonder if a bullet between the eyes would be worth it. Problem with Lincoln was that a bullet wouldn't cut it. No, if he was going to go down, he was going to go down in a blaze of freaking glory.

But first he had to take care of a little business. It didn't matter now what he did so long as he got Sarah out of Santa Carla. Lucard wasn't going to care if he just blew the whole thing up to the high heavens. And if he did, well, Lincoln just shrugged that thought away. He was supposed to die right? Well, fine then. But he wasn't going to be the only one.

As the music began to blare out of the Chevelle's speakers, Lincoln couldn't help but agree with what the Clash were saying. They had gotten it right. The Law had won…

_Breakin rocks in the hot sun  
I fough__t the law and the law won,_

_I fought the law and the law won  
I needed money cause I had none  
I fought the law and the law won _

_I fought the law and the law won_

The diner's late shift and their few bleary eyed patrons didn't think anything of the roaring muscle car as it swerved off the highway and fishtailed into a parking spot between a battered old van and a small four-door coupe. In fact, no one seemed to notice the slight drop in temperature when a tousled haired Lincoln stepped out of his car and stalked into the small eatery.

The high-pitched tinkling of the door's welcome bell altered the cashier of Lincoln's arrival but everyone else continued to do whatever it was that they were doing. A group of heavyset truckers continued to grumble about their speculations over the Santa Carla murders. One man was convinced that the Red Letter Killer was nothing more than a cover up for a religious group of nut jobs who had it in for prostitutes. It made sense didn't it? All those that had died recently were professional whores after all.

Lincoln smirked slightly when he heard this. That guy would just shit himself if he knew that the "religious group of nut jobs" had just walked into the same room. Without bothering to take off his glasses, Lincoln sauntered over to the front counter and plunked himself down on one of the empty bar stools. He made sure to keep his head down as he hunched over with his elbows propped onto the counter top. With his hair hanging in his face and his glasses on, it was impossible for anyone to see the mad gleam of brilliant yellowish-orange of his eyes.

"What the hell happened to you stranger? Get hit by a truck or somethin'?" The cashier asked as she dug out her small note pad and fiddled with the pencil behind her ear.

"Somethin' like that." Lincoln sighed, curving his hands towards his chest so that his lengthened nails were hidden from the woman's view. It wasn't the right time yet. Nope. Lincoln was waiting for something. Just a little bit longer now.

"You want a coffee? You look like you could use some." The cashier clucked sympathetically as she turned her back to Lincoln in order to retrieve the two hour old coffee that sat stewing on a hot plate. "Ya want me to spike it for ya?"

As the cashier busied herself with the small whiskey flask that she always kept secreted in her apron pocket, a young man stood up from his booth and went over to the scuffed jukebox that sat in the far corner of the diner. He eyed the selection of tunes that were available but since he didn't see anything that stuck his eye, he put in his quarter and randomly selected an Elvis tune. After all, you could never go wrong with The King.

The twanging of electric guitars and the crash of cymbals drifted from the old tune player and Lincoln cocked his head to the side to listen. Well whaddaya know? Talk about creating the perfect atmosphere. Kinda made him want to get up and dance.

"_Little less conversation, a little more action please  
All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me  
A little more bite and a little less bark  
A little less fight and a little more spark  
Close your mouth and open up your heart and baby satisfy me  
Satisfy me baby"_

Boy, the King of Rock and Roll sure knew how to make a guy feel good. Lincoln's hands started to tap out the tin drum rhythm on the counter top as the music started to get to him. When the cashier turned around to hand him the diner's special she froze on the spot. It wasn't until the coffee pot shattered did anyone look up to see what was the matter.

"_Baby close your eyes and listen to the music  
Drifting through a summer breeze  
It's a groovy night and I can show you how to use it  
Come along with me and put your mind at ease"_

Lincoln laughed along with the lyrics as he sashayed with the music. His glasses lay discarded on the counter top and his face was bare for all to see. And boy did they get an eyeful. It wasn't every day that a vampire came into their diner and started to dance on the ceiling.

Lincoln smiled a lazy grin as he moon walked along the ceiling until he was hanging right over the cashier's head. Her eyes followed him but she didn't make a sound. She looked like a deer caught in headlights. Her eyes were huge and her mouth hung uselessly as Lincoln sambaed on the spot, eyes closed but smiling a shark smile that would have made James Cagney proud.

"Satisfy me baby." Lincoln's eyes snapped open and glared down at the cashier. Those glowing eyes and that crazy smile were the last things that she saw.

The woman let out a blood curdling scream of pain as she staggered into the coffee maker and split another pot of hot coffee all down her front. Lincoln laughed and sucked on his bloodied fingers as he watched her crash about in a blind panic. He had gouged out her eyes with a single swipe of his claws and boy did she taste fine! Must be all that "diner special".

"_Come on baby I'm tired of talking  
Grab your coat and let's start walking"_

The patrons bolted in every direction as the cook came running out from the back with a knife held at the ready. But it was all in vain. There was nowhere to go. For some strange reason the front door refused to open. Lincoln just smiled as he sized up the small group and cracked his knuckles.

"Now, let's have some fun." Lincoln chuckled as he dropped from the ceiling and twisted in mid-air, landing on his heels right smack dab in the middle of the group. Needless to say, Lincoln had fun. Plenty of fun.

The female back-up chorus sang out with the restless beating of the drums as Lincoln went about painting the diner red. First, he crippled them all so that they wouldn't do anything stupid and it made it easier for him to toy with them. He was on a tight schedule and he didn't have time to waste chasing after hysterical humans. He had vampires to kill.

"_Come on, come on  
Come on, come on  
Come on, come on  
Don't procrastinate, don't articulate  
Girl it's getting late, you just sit and wait around"_

"C'mon!" Lincoln howled out as he danced along on the gore-covered counter top, swaying this way and that as drops of blood rained down on him from the ceiling. Just like twenty years ago, body parts were strewn everywhere. But this time Lincoln kept things organized. Legs with the legs, arms with the arms and the heads with the heads. Nice neat piles to make it harder for the cops to shift through. Ohhhhhh this is great.

Lincoln jumped off the counter and grab one of the many legs that were piled off to the side and as Keith Richards opened up with a guitar solo Lincoln played along, using the leg as a makeshift guitar. Blood splashed and dripped all around him but Lincoln just threw back his head and stuck out his tongue, catching blood drops like snowflakes.

He couldn't stop dancing. God if felt _so_ damn good! Lincoln whooped and hollered as he jumped the counter and grabs a few heads and slid _Risky Business _style into the kitchen. He twirled around as he juggled the heads four at a time while shimmying around the island counter that was covered in pots and various vegetables.

"Little less conversation, a little more action please." Lincoln mimicked Elvis' Southern Memphis drawl perfectly as he tossed the heads onto the grill. Looks like old Cookie forgot to turn off his stove. Shame, shame, shame. The kitchen was engulfed with the stink of sizzling flesh as Lincoln whirled and tapped dance around the kitchen, grabbing eggs, flour, peppers and a few tomatoes that were just lying there. He tossed all this onto the grill and sniffed the air. Mmmmmmmm tasty.

He was missing something though. What was it again? Oh yeah, garnish!

"A little salt, a little pepper and we can't forget the Tabasco sauce baby. Little more, little more. Perfect." Lincoln sprinkled, ground and shook the seasoning onto the browning heads and stuffed a few cloves of garlic into the open mouths.

"Order up!" Lincoln hollered out loud to no one in particular once he flipped the heads off the grill and onto a number of plates with a greasy spatula. He stood back for a second and admired his handy work. The heads sat on their plates like grotesque mounds of flesh, all bone and charred skin. Andy Warhol couldn't have done a better job.

"Now that's finger lickin' good." Lincoln kissed his finger tips as he added a little flourish of Italian to his performance. He reached over and snapped off a crispy bit of an ear and popped it into his mouth as he sauntered of hell's kitchen feeling mighty pleased with himself. The appetizer had been good, almost too good. But now it was time for the main course. The night was young and he had plenty to do. Even though he'd been dead for over twenty years Lincoln was still a sucker for fast food. The greasier the better. And there was nothing more grease ridden than a late night truck stop.

Lincoln paused on his way out to grab his glasses and to let out one hell of a belch. Feeling satisfied and whole again he was ready to call down the thunder. All of his bruises here gone and he didn't have a sore spot on him. He felt good. Now it was time to kill and be killed.

Well then, let the fun begin!

"Thanks amigo." Lincoln gave the jukebox a salute as he unlocked the front door and gave the diner one last look.

"_Any time._"

Elvis Presley, decked out in a gaudy rhinestone white jumpsuit that had been his trademark in the 70's, sat in an untouched booth beside the jukebox completely at ease with the bloodbath around him as he finished off the remains of a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Lincoln's face split into a jackal grin as the King watched him from behind a pair of dark sunglasses.

He looked exactly as he did when he died, large and in charge. Despite the fact that he was supposed to be dead and buried, Lincoln could feel a strange sort of power that radiated off the guy. Lincoln had heard the stories about people seeing Elvis all over the place, even though the guy's been dead for over ten years. But it kind of made sense now. Funny how he would be the one to find the guy in a dilapidated way-side truck pit way out in the middle of nowhere. But then again the King did work in mysterious ways.

Instead of attacking or even taking a step forward Lincoln just stood there, grinning away, as Elvis calmly ran an ivory handle comb through his perfect styled pompadour. It was as if the two had some sort of unspoken mutual understanding and when Elvis rose to his feet Lincoln stepped aside and held the door open for him. Elvis gave him a nod and strode out of the diner-turned-slaughterhouse to where a bright pink 1955 Cadillac sat waiting for him.

There was no way that the car had been there when Lincoln drove up and the only time the door was unlocked after he had gone inside was when he opened the door to let Elvis pass through. So how in the name of Graceland did the guy get in? Or did he? It didn't make any sense but it wasn't supposed to. Lincoln's screwy mind was playing tricks on his eyes and senses but he was already too far gone to care.

"_The king has left the building_"

Lincoln laughed out loud as he heard Elvis murmur the words in his mind and the half-crazed vampire watched as the Cadillac roared to life and pulled out of the parking lot without leaving so much as a tire mark. Lincoln lifted an arm and waved as the old gas guzzler drove off down the road and with a laugh he waltzed out with a bounce in his step.

It took Lincoln a matter of seconds to get Baby up and running and as he sped back onto the highway towards Santa Carla, howling out into the night, he didn't notice the Cadillac fade into nothingness like a revived but soon forgotten memory. Armed and ready, if not a tad bit unstable and higher than a kite on one massive blood rush, Lincoln was not going to stop or be stopped until he ripped David's head from his shoulders. Come hell or high water, whichever first, he was going to do it.


	16. All Hail the King of the Fools

**Greeting Sportsfans!**

**Long time no see! I know I promised to have this thing done by the beginning of summer and once again I have failed to keep up my end of the bargain. I should be beaten with a shoe on a daily basis because of this. Thank you all for sticking with the story after all these long months of silence. This thing wouldn't get written if it wasn't for you guys hounding my tail to get writing. I owe you all more than thanks.**

**I apologize if this chapter is a bit wordy but you know Lucard. He has to be thorough in everything he does. But now that I have all the backstories finally done I can start working on the last chapters that are nothing but action and then more action. Excessive violence, bloodshed, kick ass smack downs...oh yeah. I can't wait to get those chapters. But for now here is Lucard's side of things. Sure it's a lot of description but I'm so putting my money on the old guy for what's to come. Read it and see for yourselves. Muhahahaha! **

**Oh and before I forget. The songs that goes with this chapter is Apocalptica's **_Farewell _**and Twisted Sister's **_King of the Fools. _**You can never go wrong with cellos and heavy metal. Booyeah!!**

**Happy Reading.**

* * *

Lucard's ears strained against the hissing wind as the sound of the Chevelle's tell-tale growl faded into silence down the long stretch of highway. He remained where he was, unmoving and unblinking, for what seemed like hours as time simple ceased to exist. He was stuck in the moment, lost in the turmoil of his buzzing mind as he tried to come to terms with what he had just done. Lincoln was gone and he would not be coming back. He, the Baron Lucard, Master Vampire and Regent of Lower North America, had just sent his own flesh and blood to his demise. And there was nothing he could do to stop it.

_Forgive me._

Lucard blinked as he became aware of the surrounding area. There was nothing there for him, out in the middle of the Californian desert wasteland. Overhead a roll of thunder rumbled angrily as a flash of forked lightning struck a telephone pole a few hundred yards off. The sink of ozone and the highly charged atmosphere did little to heighten Lucard's awareness of his predicament. In the vast stretch of land he was one of the few objects that were tall enough to taunt the lightning to strike at.

But the expected searing blow never came. It never would.

If only he should be so lucky.

Lucard frowned and glanced down at his hand as he felt a droplet of water land on it. It was soon followed by a second, and then a third drop.

_And so it starts._

As if on cue more drops of water began to strike the parched earth and within moments the clouds overhead did what he himself could not. They began to cry.

By the time Lucard landed on the doorstep of the safe house that had been occupied by himself and his fledglings only an evening before, the rain was coming down in torrents, drenching the entire coast of California from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Oddly enough the local weathermen had predicted nothing but clear skies and temperatures in the high forties for the entire week.

Lucard wearily unearthed his keys from his coat pocket and unlocked the front door as a spear of lightening crackled overhead. He was completely drenched as he made his way into the house but he didn't seem to care that he left a trail of rainwater on the marble tiled floor or that he looked like a survivor of a shipwreck. Decorum and appearance be damned.

Another flash of lightening illuminated the dark and silent house before the expectant boom followed a moment later, rattling the windows with its mighty bark. It was all very melodramatic and depressing and on any other occasion Lucard would have chuckled to himself and made some sort of sarcastic remark about overused clichés. However for the time being it was quite fitting. The storm, the darkness, the lashing rain fit his mood perfectly.

The weather was as dismal as he felt.

Instead of turning on the lights Lucard just tossed his keys onto the writing desk and headed straight for his study. He didn't need light to see by and the lightning outside provided enough luminosity for him to navigate towards the huge mahogany desk that was completely covered in massive leather bound volumes and piles of file folders and gathered papers. Contracts, files, legal dealings, leases and articles were everywhere, organized into neat piles so that it would be easy for him to find what he was looking for and the latest Wall Street contract negotiation was placed in the center of the desk, waiting to be signed and sealed.

Like most vampires of his age and rank, Lucard was active in the field of present day business. He had shares in many of the well-off stocks and a few in Microsoft, which was the latest rising star on Wall Street. It was said that the computer was the way of the future and who was he to deny such a future if that was the direction in which society was willing to venture upon?

Yet all this he ignored. The deadlines and the memos remained where they were, utterly forgotten as he shed his waterlogged suit jacket and tossed it haphazardly onto the desk. He didn't give a damn if all the important papers were ruined by water. It was better if they were. He wanted nothing to do with the human world at this point. He just wanted to be left alone.

_**Alone again? **_

Lucard stood stock still for a moment as the voice purred out of the dark corners of his study. There was no physical body in the room because Lucard would have sensed it upon entering the house. There was no scent, no trace of a figure and yet Lucard knew that voice well. Well enough to expect it to come to taunt him at a time like this.

_**This seems to be the going trend for you. I wonder why?**_

Lucard's brown eyes hardened as he squared his shoulders and sat down in the large black leather chair that stood behind his desk. The chair was so massive in size that it looked like a throne when he sat in it. But his imposing figure didn't seem to daunt the voice as it cackled quietly to itself from the shadows cast by the towering bookshelves that lined the room.

_**Oh it is a pity. A real shame. But you knew it was coming. Just like the last time. And the time before that, and the time before that, all the way to the beginning. Fun times right? Well…they were for me.**_

Lucard clenched his jaw and ground his teeth with such force that the voice even heard it above the noise of the storm outside.

_**Angry are we?**_

Lucard shut his eyes and refused to answer the voice. Instead he pulled open the bottom desk drawer and took out a glass tumbler and a decanter of scotch whiskey. He quickly poured himself a generous amount and knocked it back in a single swallow before he poured out another glassful.

_**You can't avoid me forever. **_

Lucard breathed in deeply and held back a gagging cough that tickled the back of his throat. The putrid stink of rotten vegetation and brimstone that suddenly engulfed the room was enough to make even the most foulest of demons turn their noses up in distaste.

_**Come come now old friend. Don't be like that. Are you trying to hurt my feelings? I don't have any remember? But I guess it's the thought that counts. **_

Lucard's eyes remained shut as he swallowed hard and lifted the glass to his lips. However as he did so he felt a slight pull on the glass and the distinct clink of sharpened nails on the fragile surface.

_**Look at me when I'm talking to you.**_

Lucard didn't comply. He ignored the voice and felt the glass get yanked out of his hand and thrown at his head. He ducked just in time to avoid being hit and the glass shattered on the wall behind him, soaking the back of the chair with whiskey.

_**Now look what you made me do. **_

Lucard slowly straightened in his seat and still kept his eyes close. He heard the voice snicker something in a language that was not human but instead of giving in he ran a line over and over in his head as a mantra of sorts.

"_Ay, go accursed spirit to ugly hell: T'is thou hast damn'd distressed Faustus' soul. Is't not too late?_"

Lucard repeated this mentally to himself over and over again as he felt the unholy presence shift before him. The god-awful stink grew stronger as being dropped off the desk and perched itself on the top of his chair. Its claws creased the care-worn leather as it sat there like type of demonic parrot, right over his shoulder.

_**What's that? Not too late for what? Saving that wretch you call a son? Or that little chit of a vampire you just bartered away good land for? Hmmmm? C'mon, am I getting warmer?**_

That leering, sniveling voice was like a stiletto blade in his mind. Thin and deadly it struck him right in the nerve center. Lucard's eyes flew open as he sprang from the chair and kicked it back in a blur of motion that was too fast to follow. The voice let out an indignant screech as the chair toppled on top it just as Lucard's powerful voice rang out across the room, silencing the voice with the weight of his words.

"MONACHUS! URLAUB!" _Monachus, begone! _Lucard roared out as his eyes flashed in the darkness with a deadly orange-yellow light. "Get out of my sight before I send you back to hell in pieces."

The room went quiet.

_**Someone's a little touchy. Eh? **_

The voice, Monachus, sniggered as Lucard snarled and grabbed the closest thing to him which was a plaster bust of William Shakespeare. He whipped the heavy object across the room and was rewarded with shriek of surprise as the bust shattered on impact. It would seem that vampiric reflexes were just as fast as that of a lesser-demon.

"Why are you here? Who sent you, you foul wretch?" Lucard growled as he kept the heavy Victorian style two-seater between himself and the shadowed far corner where the voice lurked.

"_**No one sent me you old fool. I'm your personal devil incarnate remember? You were the one who signed over your soul how many centuries ago? What, you forgot our contract? Tsk, it hurts me to see that I mean so little to you. What, with the decades of personal torment and unrelenting suffering you think you'd know me by now."**_

Lucard sighed as he ran a hand through his ruffled hair and smoothed it back to its proper place. "Monachus I have no patience for you now."

"_**You never do."**_

"Then why are you doing this? Why now?" Lucard asked as he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the hidden figure that was masked in shadows.

"_**Lucard, old buddy, old friend, dearest comrade. I'm here to do you a favor."**_

"And that would be?" Lucard asked bluntly as he watched as a shadowy figure dove under the red and gold Persian rug and slithered towards him from under the carpet like a snake in the grass.

"_**Well, to be quite frank, saving your miserable undead life. Shall I explain?"**_

"Please do." Lucard bit his tongue as he felt the thing creep out from under the carpet and skitter its way up the wall until it hung upside-down from the overhead chandelier. Despite the close proximity Lucard did not look up at the figure. Instead he sat down on the two-seater and kept his eyes on the row of books that were across the room. He knew Monachus' old tricks, knew then well enough to know that if he looked the devil in the eye he would be powerless to stop him from taking over his body. It had happened in the past and had Lucard learned from that mistake by paying an ugly price. He vowed never to let it happen again and so far that vow remained unbroken.

Even undead beings suffered at the hands of the unholy. Everyone had their own personal demons and for Lucard his was a physical presence that existed between worlds and that only he could see. Lincoln had no idea that Monachus stalked Lucard in his very shadow because the devil was clever in how he made his presence known to Lucard.

Crafty little fiend if there ever was one. That was Monachus.

"_**Well it's quite simple. Our dear friend Von Ruben is out to get you."**_

"He always has and always will." The Master Vampire sighed as he sat back and waited to see what the devil would do next.

"_**Ah, yyyyes, but this time he is close to succeeding. And that doesn't bode well for the both of us. Might I remind you, if you die, I get sent back to Hell without benefits where I become nothing more than another deadbeat in the grand scheme of things. And I don't know about you but I'm really starting to like the twentieth century and I really want to stick around for the new millennium. It's supposed to be a real doozy. With the end of the world and all and I'd really like to be there to see it." **_

"Get to the point." Lucard cut off the voice before Monachus could ramble on about the joys of utter destruction that awaited mankind at the stroke of midnight that hailed in the next millennium.

However Monachus, for all of his conniving ways, did not take kindly to the tone of Lucard's voice. Here he was, going out on a limb to help out his angst ridden charge when it was clearly against the rules, and what was he getting for it?

Nadda.

This didn't sit well with the torment demon. He was the one in charge here, not the old vampire. Maybe it was time to remind the old fool who he was dealing with.

"_**We had a deal, remember? **_

Monachus hissed dangerously in Lucard's ear and before the Master Vampire could react, it pounced. Lucard let out a garbled choke as a cloud of darkness swirled around his head before the little hellion dug his needlepoint claws into his skull and viciously wrenched a memory to the surface of his consciousness.

"_**Remember that contract Lucard? Remember that night you signed it? Remember why you signed it? Do I have to make you remember?"**_

Lucard didn't answer. He couldn't answer. Monachus had full control over his thoughts and Lucard was paralyzed and trapped in the fiend's clutches as glimpses of another lifetime flashed before his eyes.

There was a year. A date scrawled on a piece of valium parchment.

_1447_

And a name. The wet ink of the signature shone like polished gemstones in the weak light of dozens of candle flames.

_Freiherr Gereon, Haus von Fauster_

There was a hand, a hand covered in open sores. The hand held a brown quill.

_The tip was coated in blood. His blood_

Standing before him was a man with golden hair and a thick beard. But he wasn't human. He was wearing heavy furs and a dark coloured cloth tunic.

_It was Monachus in disguise_

The man was holding the parchment up to the candlelight, reading the words that had been written on it in a thick German tongue. But as the man spoke the room was growing dim. It was getting harder and harder to breath. The pain was lessening. His fever was gone. It was cold.

_He was dying_

It was the plague. The plague had come to the northern borders of the Germanic kingdom. What was later to be called the Black Death had all but wiped out the entire house of Fauster. Everyone was dead. There was no stopping the Devil's own doing and he was next.

_But he refused to die like this_

That refusal had cost him his soul but hope had discarded him so he had stopped caring. At least he would live.

_But it was lies. All lies_

"_**Remember Lucard, if it wasn't for me, you would have been dead long ago. You owe me everything."**_

Lucard gasped for air as the visions suddenly vanished along with the darkness. Lightning flashed through the windows and bathed the study in an eerier blue light for a moment which allowed the Master Vampire to get his bearings. He was back in the present and Monachus was hissing in his ear like the proverbial serpent.

"I owe you nothing! Five hundred years of torture is payment enough for your double-crossed lies." Lucard snarled viciously and it was a sound that would have made anyone but Monachus tremble at the power behind it.

"_**And it'll be five hundred more if you don't give me the respect I deserve."**_

"Hölle hath kein Respekt für das verdammte." Lucard spat out the words as if they were something foul that had lodged in his throat. _Hell hath no respect for the damned._

"_**Oh yeah? Look whose talking."**_

Lucard whirled around as he rose to his feet, his right hand upraised and ready to strike with all the strength he could muster but Monachus had fled from his perch and scurried safely out of reach on top of one of the massive dark oak bookshelves. Lucard's eyes glowed brightly as he pulled back his lips ever so slightly and bared the tips of his lethal fangs in Monachus' direction but the lesser-demon knew that he was well out of Lucard's line of fire for the moment. The sound of clicking teeth came from the darkest corner of the highest shelf before Lucard reached out and caught an old leather bound book that was flung at him in mid-air.

"_**Recognize this?"**_

Indeed the old vampire did. The cracked spine and dark yellow pages of the book were as familiar to him as his own hand. The book had to be over two hundred years old at least but the title that was engraved in gold leaf on the book's cover shone as brightly as it had the day he received it.

"Marlowe's _Faustus._" Lucard murmured quietly as he gently ran his fingertips along the battered spine before he carefully opened the book to a random page. The ink of the play's words was all but faded but Lucard didn't need to read the words to know what they said. He had engraved the play into his mind centuries ago and knew every word by heart. Chrisopher Marlowe's play held such importance to the Master Vampire that it would be cruel not to give it the attention it deserved. After all, the English playwright had penned it in his honour all those years ago.

"_**That's not what I meant."**_

Lucard quickly closed the book and set it down on a marble-topped end table before he straightened and stared in Monachus' direction. "It was given to me by Von Ruben when we spent a year together in London."

"_**Yes, yes. And?"**_

"And?" Lucard arched an eyebrow as his face contorted back to his human visage. He glanced down at the book for a moment as he felt a strange stirring in the back of his consciousness.

"_**About time."**_

Lucard ignored the demon's comment as he frowned deeply and picked up the copy once again. Something felt very out of place. Almost wrong in a way. There was something that he wasn't aware of that didn't quite fit.

"_**C'mon, c'mon. We don't have all night. Think Lucard. Think hard."**_

Lucard's kept his ears deaf to Monachus' criticism as he held the book in one hand, allowing its weight and texture to trigger a memory that he had all but forgotten. The night that Von Ruben had given him the book was the night they had gone to see a production of the play at the fabled Drury Lane theatre. Afterward the two of them had stayed up until dawn discussing the philosophies behind the plays meaning and the playwright's intention. Lucard remember that despite his closeness to the younger vampire he had made sure to keep his identity and connection to the play a secret. But that hadn't stopped him from voicing his opinions about the flaws and salvation of a man's soul.

There was something about what Max had said that night that seemed important now. What was it again? What had Max said about the weakness of man's desires?

"_It is almost pathetic how easily men are ensnared. Faustus was blinded by his own desires to see the obvious. His downfall was eminent. All one has to do in order to bring a man to his knees is to offer him what he can never have." _

What he can never have.

"What I could never have?" Lucard murmured to himself, repeating those far away worlds.

"_**What? What's that?"**_

Lucard turned his head in the demon's direction but his eyes stared elsewhere. Was it possible? Had his once companion and present rival figured it out? But it wasn't possible! Or was it?

"_**Well?"**_

"Lincoln." The name barely left his lips before his eyes widened in alarm as it all started to come together. "Sarah."

"_**We have a winner."**_

"What I could never have." The one thing that Lucard had always yearned for in all of his years of unholy existence was what every man would crave for in the end. It wasn't wealth, or power, or fame. All those could be easily gained and just as easily lost. What he desired was the simplest thing that was the hardest to have. He longed for the close companionship of a family.

Before the plague had struck down the house of Fauster, Lucard had been the head of a proud and noble lineage. He had been secretly proud of his large and ever-growing brood for at the time few children ever made it to adulthood and they had been lucky in the fact that his lands were prosperous and tragedy had rarely struck the family. Yet nothing lasts forever. From the initial reporting of the plague sickness that had come from the villages surrounding his castle, it was only a matter of months before his second wife, children and grandchildren all fell ill and died. He had been the last to be afflicted and that was when Monachus moved in for the kill.

"How could this be? How could he know? Impossible." Lucard felt his legs give out from under him as he sank back down onto the two-seater, utterly stunned. He hadn't seen this coming. Why hadn't he seen this coming? There was no way for Max to know the one thing that Lucard deeply desired above all else.

"_**Hey, you and I both know that nothing's impossible. I'll admit that twenty years is quite the stretch to wait but Von Ruben's quite the patient guy. I mean, it's not like he's going to grow old and die on us now."**_

"Twenty years?" Lucard tilted his head slightly to the side, catching the tail end of Monachus' words as he felt the demon's presence suddenly manifest itself beside him on the couch. "He tested me."

"_**And you fell for it."**_

"How could I not have seen this coming?" Lucard whispered quietly to himself. He let the book slip through his fingers and land on the thick carpet as he buried his head in his hands for a moment as he tried to figure out what went wrong. How could he have been so blind!

"_**Hey don't feel so bad. I didn't see it coming either and that's saying something."**_

Lucard shook his head.

"He tested me. Over and over again he tested me to see how far I was willing to go. First," Lucard growled as he pulled himself to his feet and began to pace the length of the couch, his mind working quickly to put all the fact together, "it was Lincoln. But it was not planned…or was it? But I accepted and gave myself away. Oh I am a damned fool! Who else would bother taking on the challenge of rogue? That must have confirmed his suspicions. And then there were the others. The girls. Victoria, Jennifer, Laura. All of them. There was always a girl he was willing to barter for and I was too wrapped up in my own follies to take notice of what was going on."

Lucard paused as he let it all sink in. It felt like a huge grindstone had suddenly appeared around his neck as his thoughts drifted to all the girls before Sarah that he had brought under his protection only to watch each and every one of them suffer and die from a fate that was not meant to be theirs. And it had all been Max's doing.

For once Monachus remained silent as Lucard closed his eyes and hung his head.

"I have unknowingly been moving myself across the board to his advantage. The stage has been set, now all that is left is to watch for the fall." The Master Vampire's voice was sullen and strangely flat. All the power and presence behind his words that he usually commanded had seemed to have left him, leaving nothing behind.

"_**What? You're just going to stay here and let him get away with this?"**_

"If I interfere with Lincoln's fate I will be going against Council law and to strike Von Ruben in his own territory would be nothing short of a death sentence. Lincoln broke the rules of engagement. He killed purposefully in another Head Vampire's territory without permission, attacked one of Von Ruben's fledglings and made humans aware of our presence in Santa Carla. He revealed us. That last act alone would call for a tribunal of the Council court and I could not bear the thought of what they would do to him."

"_**Hmph, vampire politics. So you're going to let Max win then?"**_

"There is nothing…nothing I can do." Lucard turned around and even the heartless hellion could not ignore the anguish in the old vampire's eyes. "My hands are tied."

"_**Hey, hey! I'm on your side here. But I never would have thought that those kids meant so little to you. And here I thought you had gotten soft in your old age. Silly me. I should have known that you were the cold heartless bastard that you used to be. So what if Lincoln gets ripped to pieces by the same son of a bitch that made him the maniac he is? No skin off our backs eh? I'm sure you'll just find another problem child to substitute him with. The world's full of them ya know."**_

Whether it was by accident or pure intent, Monachus' words seemed to trigger something in the resigned Master Vampire, something that had lain dormant for far too long. Lucard's broad shoulders went rigid as a shudder ran up his spine and from behind the shadows that shrouded him, the lesser-demon actually smiled.

Monachus may be a paranormal parasite and Lucard's ball and chain in the endless torment department but it would do him no good if Lucard were to loose his will to live over a bunch of vampire brats. The demon knew Lucard better than the vampire knew himself and if either one of his fledglings were to die by Max's hand tonight, there would be no way to stop Lucard from falling into the whole broken-hearted pit of despair trap that so many vampires his age wound up in. If Lucard went down that road, he wouldn't last long before he either went suicidal or became an easy target for a younger and more power-hungry vampire.

Ha! It would be a cold day in hell before the demon ever let that happen. No pun intended of course.

Lucard's time may be coming to an end but there were still a good couple of decades left in the old bloodsucker and Monachus was going to milk him for all he was worth. He hadn't worked this hard for so long only to get shafted back to the underworld without something to show for it. The Master Vampire was his meal-ticket to the good life and the lesser-demon was not going to give him up without a fight. He might not be able to stop Max personally from going through with what was no doubt a well-thought out plan but it was never wise to try to outsmart a demon of Monachus' caliber. Where there's a will, there's a way and for Monachus there was always a way.

"_Enough _of this_."_ Lucard snarled to himself in a tone that he had not used since the night he had come across Maxim Ilion Von Ruben brutally punishing a rebellious fledgling for turning an abandoned train-yard into a slaughtering ground.

"_**What are you doing?"**_

Lucard didn't respond. His face had hardened into a frightening rigid mask of stone flesh.

"_**Ohhhh snap."**_

The Master Vampire squared his shoulders and fixed his eyes onto the third shelf of the furthest bookshelf. He crossed the study in three strides and reached for a red leather-bound Bible that was wedged tightly between a copy of the Torah and the Qur'an. Instead of coming right off the shelf the book just tilted halfway and the click of a hidden mechanism was softly heard. Moments later the heavy bookshelf slowly sunk into the wall and it took all of Lucard's strength to shove it to the side in order to reveal a hidden door behind it. A lesser vampire would have had one hell of a time trying to move that thing. Vampires may be strong but it takes a lot to move aside a four ton solid steel wall disguised as a bookshelf.

"_**Was it something I said?"**_

Indeed, through his clever wheedling and ingenious slight-of-hand, Monachus had tapped into Lucard's heavily controlled core, the centerfold of the vampire's full power. He had managed to awaken the thunder god in Lucard and now it was time to unleash some hell!

There was no knob or lock on the thick wooden door that was carved and studded with heavy iron nails in the old Medieval Germanic style. There was hardly a groove where stone wall met wood and it was in this particular architectural quirk that made what lay behind the door an impregnable stronghold. There were no cracks for shadows to slip through and unless someone had his consent, there was no way that anyone could gain entrance into his fortified resting place. Not even the clever Monachus.

Lucard rested his hand on the wooden door and with hardly any effort he pushed inward and the door gave way under his touch. The interior was nothing but a solid wall of black and Lucard stepped into it without the aid of artificial light. The stronghold was airless and cold but that didn't both him as he flicked his hand to the left and a single flame suddenly blossomed into existence at the end of a half melted beeswax candle. The faint glow of the yellow flame barely illuminated the four walls that closed in around the tall vampire. The thick concrete walls of Lucard's safe haven were reinforced with four-inch steel sidings so that nothing short of an atomic blast would be felt from the inside. Strange markings and ancient runic symbols were etched into the wall facings as wards to keep out any unwanted intruder, both on the physical and paranormal plane. Lucard wasn't one to take chances when it came to his safety. Yet it wasn't his personal safety that he was concerned about at the moment.

Moving without a sound Lucard went straight for the massive black lacquered coffin that dominated the inner sanctum. It was of a simple design, polished to a high shine with no frills or decorations that one would expect to see on such burial piece. A small golden plaque was fitted onto the coffin lid and it bore Lucard's family crest and personal motto. A finely detailed plumed helmet was perched upon a plain shield with an upraised fist that pointed to the heavens and underneath it were the words:

_Haus von Fauster_

_Candela exuro perspicuus in obscurum_  
(A candle burns brightest in darkness)

It only took Lucard a moment to relieve himself of his rain soaked clothes and gold Rolex watch before he tossed everything into a haphazard pile in the corner. That Armani suit was going to need a good week at the dry cleaners but he couldn't care less. The suits and the jewelry he wore were nothing but theatric mimicry that allowed him to blend into the world around him. What he needed now was something that would make him stand out.

Running a hand through his wet hair in order to slick it back Lucard eyed his coffin for a moment before he placed his hands along the edges of the lid and slowly lifted it to the side. Lying neatly folded among the dark silk inner lining of the coffin was a set of historical clothing, pristine and perfectly preserved. It was the ceremonial garb of the Master Vampire.

It was Lucard's ass kicking outfit. Whenever a Master Vampire donned his or her suit of office, you just knew that the shit was going down. Hard. Sure the outfit was about 200 years out of date and made him look like some sort of Germanic Neo-Gothic Undertaker of the Damned, but to the vampire world that outfit held a hell of a lot of weight to it. Vampires respected the outfit just as they respected the vampire wearing it.

"_**Ohhhh this is going to be good."**_

Monachus' voice barely made it above a whisper as the demon lurked under a lamp in the study but Lucard didn't hear him. He was in another mindset as he began to dress himself. With each piece of clothing that he put on the presence that surrounded him grew heavier and more potent. When the polished hessian boots were slid on the dangerous glint in his eyes grew stone cold. The thick velvet tunic of burgundy and black fit perfectly across his chest as he stood ram rod straight and the weak candle flame sputtered and dimmed despite the lack of a draft. On went the silk neck scarf, the short coat of black and red brocade with the heavy velvet collar and stiff cuffs and the broad leather belt that hung from shoulder to hip in the traditional cavalier fashion that was long since shuffled into history along with the great kings of France and hessians of Germany.

His hands ran carefully along the sharpened double edge of the ceremonial sword that hung from his waist. Instead of leaving it at his side, Lucard withdrew the sword and laid it back in the coffin. The sword was merely a symbol of office and would only get in the way. Also Lucard had other weapons at his command that were far deadlier than any hand-made blade. It was all part and parcel of being one of the big guns. Sometimes a Master Vampire had to throw his weight around and when he did he had to make damn sure that he could take on anything that was thrown at him.

Max had used him, sliced away at his core with each girl that he had bartered and now with Lincoln and Sarah hanging in the balance Lucard was going to pull all the stops to make sure that this would end tonight. It was never wise to piss off a Master vampire and Von Rueben deserved an end more fitting for the conniving double-dealing usurper that he was. Death by the sword just seemed too…typical.

The last thing to go on was his old trademark. It had been over four decades since he had last worn the heavy Inverness Melton greatcoat but the solid black wool was still as pliable and unmarked as it had been for the past hundred and twenty three years. Most Masters stuck to the more traditional heavy velvet cape but Lucard found that the overcoat had more of an impact. It added bulk to his already large frame and didn't hamper his movements as much as a cape would.

Lucard meticulously did up the buttons and turned up the coat's thick collar so that it concealed his neck. It was a slight form of protection and even though the collar would not prevent another vampire from getting its fangs into his neck, the heavy double layer of fabric would deflect some of the impact. Practical, imposing and unforgettable, that was the way Lucard wanted it.

"_**So are you gonna bring down the thunder on him this time? Oh! What about pulling the same thing you did to that upstart noble, what was his name, Count…whoa! Hey! Wait a minute!"**_

But Lucard didn't wait. He had wasted enough time already and time wasn't going to slow down in his favor. There were some things no vampire could control and time was one of them. The front door was slammed shut with such force that a priceless Florentine oil painting crashed to the ground and the massive crystal chandelier that hung in the foyer tinkled and swayed precariously for a moment. Monachus made it to the frosted glass of the front door just in time to witness Lucard vanish from the front drive as he launched himself into the sky with a northwesterly gale howling in his wake.

A powerful boom of thunder erupted from the sky overhead and the house shook slightly once again as the demon tracked the shadowed form of the Master Vampire until Lucard disappeared into the dark heavy clouds. There went the one vampire that didn't have to worry about being struck by a bolt of lightning that night because for once, then lightning was on his side.

"_**I am a genius."**_


	17. What are you, Chicken?

**Hey Folks!!**

**Here it is! The completed Chapter 17! God don't you just love a good smack-down session between vampires? Once you've read the chapter head on over to my website to see all the goodies that I'll be putting up that go with this chapter. There are video clips that will make you appreciate the Chevelle as one of the best muscle cars in the world. God if I could I would marry a Chevelle. Who needs men when you can have all that horsepower at your command? And this coming from a person who would much rather ride a horse to work than drive. Also I will be putting on the character song lists in the next few days so you can enjoy the tunage that helped to bring the character to life. There are only a few more chapters before this story comes to an end and I want to thank all of you for reading it, reviewing it and bearing with me and the insanely long time it has taken me to write this darn thing.**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

_Che che che……ha ha ha…__**ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaa!**_

**Welcome to Santa Carla**…Murder Capital of the World

_**Veeeerrrrrrroooooooommmmmmmm!!**__!_

The large rickety sign that stood at the side of the highway that bordered the coastal town rocked slightly as a mass of black and white steel torpedoed it at two hundred and god knows what kilometers per hour, breaking every speed limit in the damn country. But did the driver care? Oh hell no.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! I'm comin' Dave! I'm comin' to getcha!" Lincoln cawed as he drove with one hand clutching the steering wheel while he kept his left arm braced against the doorframe. The half-crazed vampire let loose a wild howl as the Chevelle charged into Santa Carla like one of the four horsemen, out for blood and ready for some serious action.

It didn't have to wait long.

A high-pitched ear splitting screech of rubber on asphalt rang out as the massive muscle car skidded to a dead halt right in the middle of the empty highway. Growling dangerously the Chevelle's engine revved in challenge as its bright headlights illuminated the three solitary figures that stood blocking its path. Like a scene out of a cheesy spaghetti western, David, Marko and Paul calmly stared at the Chevelle as they sat back on their bikes while the wind that came off the bay attacked their hair.

It was a show-down at midnight were only one thing was for certain. Only one side was going to walk away from this.

Lincoln's jackal grin slowly oozed onto his face as he lifted a finger and nudged his Aviator glasses onto the bridge of his nose so that he could stare over the rims and defy the three vampires with an antagonizing glare.

"Oh you-hoo!" He called out in a sing-song voice as he lifted his left hand and gave the Lost Boys a little wave.

A muscle in Paul's jaw twitched sporadically as he clenched his fists around the handlebars of his motorcycle. That was the only giveaway to the excessive energy that was coiled up inside him like a rattlesnake ready to strike. He had to use every ounce of self-control to hold himself back because in about five seconds he was literally going to fly off the handle and go at the car outright. David's rock solid presence beside him was the only thing that kept him grounded but it wasn't going to last for much longer. There was only so much he could take before he lost his cool. He wasn't the control freak that David was. He never had the best grip over himself and his urges. He lived by the seat of his pants so whatever he wanted to do he did, no questions asked. Act first think later, that was his unwritten creed.

But random actions weren't going to help matters tonight. They had a plan that they had to stick to. It was their only shot at taking down that fucker behind the wheel and Paul was dead certain that he wasn't going to screw it up. Lincoln was going to get it tonight and Paul was going to be the one to give it to him. Nice and hard.

Lincoln chuckled softly to himself as he nudged his glasses back into place. God it was so freaking easy to get under their skin. He could smell Paul getting all hot and bothered by his mere presence but he wasn't surprised. Ol' Paulie Boy was the easy one to screw around with but it was David that Lincoln was after.

Instinctively Lincoln knew that he had a minute or two to spare before the shit went down so what did he do? He began to whistle Bob Marley's _Don't Worry Be Happy_ as he oh so carelessly flicked a switch and suddenly illuminated half the highway with an intense white light. Oops.

Marko blinked when Lincoln flipped on his high beams. The bright light blinded him for a moment but his eyes quickly adjusted and he could just make out the faint outline of the vampire that sat behind the wheel of the car. His senses were in over-drive and had been for the past hour. He had flown on ahead to act as a look-out while David and Paul set everything up. They all knew what they had to do and it was going to be one of the toughest acts that they ever had to pull. After all none of this could get back to Max because if it did, they would all end up dead before daybreak.

The plan was clear. They had to lure Lincoln to the edge of town away, from the residential population, and erase every trace of him from the face of the earth. No witnesses, no evidence. Nothing. Even the car was going to get scrapped beyond recognition so that if the Baron guy that Marko had seen two nights prior ever came looking for the vampire, there would be no way that he could peg Lincoln's disappearance on them. And since Max wasn't going to know a thing about it, they would be in the safe. But the challenge would be to get Lincoln to the predestined slaughtering ground. It wasn't as if he was just going to get up and go there on his own. That was where David came in.

Marko glanced at their leader from the corner of his eye but David could have been made of stone for all he knew. The blonde vampire sat there with his arms crossed over his chest as if he was lost in another dimension. He didn't blink, he didn't move, hell he didn't even breathe. He just sat there, staring right through the headlights as if all he could see was Lincoln, which was impossible because even with their sharpened eyesight Marko could barely pick out the vampire from behind the lights and tinted windshield.

What Paul and Marko didn't know was that David and Lincoln were currently butting heads on the psychological plane. Neither of them exchanged so much as a thought as they threw their minds at each another to see who would be the first to give. It was a silent clash of a battle of wills that if put into physical action could have torn up the surrounding landscape.

David and Lincoln were the same age and from the same maker, they were perfectly matched in almost every way. They both knew it too. So what it came down to was sheer grit and mettle. Who was the stronger vampire? Was it David, with his years of lording over Santa Carla and his little troupe while licking Max's shoes? Or was it Lincoln, with his insane track record and savage streak that had made him one of the most hated and feared henchmen in the vampire world?

Despite the sheer power that passed unnoticed between the two blood brothers, the struggle didn't last long. When it came down to the wire David knew deep down that Lincoln would be the one to best him in an even match. David was just as cruel and cunning as Lincoln but the difference between the two was that Lincoln was unstable and that made him the deadlier vampire.

David hadn't forgotten what happened back at the train yard over twenty years ago. He hadn't stopped Lincoln that night because if he had he knew that his body would have been scattered about on the rusted tracks along with a quarter of the suburban population of Santa Carla. He didn't have to be a genius to figure out that Lincoln was a loose cannon at the best of times and when something happened to tip him over the edge the guy became little more than a rabid hellion that would destroy anything in its path without a thought to rules, caution, or basic self-preservation. But then again David wasn't alone this time and he had the element of surprise on his side. It would be close but David was determined that he was going to walk away the victor. Even if he had to cheat to do it.

"What's he waitin' for man?" Paul's voice was strained as he shifted on his bike. He was grasping at straws now and his restraint was practically none existent. He wanted to dish out some serious pain for what Lincoln did to him. He was never one to forgive or forget. None of the Lost Boys were.

"Wait for it." David said as he plucked a hand-rolled cigarette from behind his ear and calmly lit it with a lighter that he produced from the pocket of his trench coat.

Marko let out a sigh as he adjusted his leather biker gloves. He could feel the tension that radiated off David and as his eyes followed the glowing tip of David's cigarette he knew that it was going happen in the next few seconds. They all knew what they had to do and he had no doubt that Paul would follow through with David's plan. He was only worried that Paul might go over-broad too soon but he couldn't stop that from happening. The sooner Lincoln was taken care of the sooner he could sleep better. Sure Lincoln was one nasty customer but Marko's real fear lay with Max, more specifically what would happen to them if they slipped up.

"We wait any longer and it'll be daylight." Paul growled low in throat as he shifted again. He was getting edgy just sitting out in the open while Lincoln was like six meters away.

David slowly exhaled a stream of smoke as he turned his head to the side and fixed Paul with his unblinking gaze. It took a moment for Paul to settle down but a swift mental nudge from David was enough to get Paul back in line for the time being. They could not afford any slipups.

Behind the tinted lenses of his aviator glasses Lincoln stared out at the little scene in front of him from. Like David he remained impassive as he waited out the face off. He could feel David's mind battering against his mental blockade but he was just too far gone to care. There was no way that David was going to crack his noggin. Lucard had spent years teaching Lincoln all of the hidden little tricks and pitfalls that came with the "mental wars" as Lincoln liked to call it and even though he was no match against the Boss, Lincoln could hold his own pretty well. He didn't have much of a choice.

But enough about that.

Lincoln had something to do and he had to get it done. Sure he could be staring death in the face but then again Lincoln had been doing that ever since he was inundated into the Fang Gang. Now it was time to party it up like it was 1989.

"Let the good times roll." Lincoln smiled his toothy smile as he arched an eyebrow and winked at David from behind his glasses.

David frowned as he took a final drag on his cigarette and flicked it onto the road. He had felt something shift with Lincoln's mind. It was subtle but he had picked up on it. What changed? Something was off with the feel of air around him. He squinted and glared through the headlights but Lincoln hadn't changed as far as he could tell.

"Why don't ya try openin' them eyes Davey Boy." Lincoln cackled to himself as he watched David get all somber and edgy as he tried to figure out what was going on. Ohhhh it was just too damn _easy _to get these guys. "C'mon Davey. Use that schemin' little brain of yours."

David scowled. He couldn't see it. He just couldn't…wait a minute. Where was Paul's name?

The graffiti that Paul had etched onto the chrome front bumper was no longer there. It was gone. The chrome bumper was as buffed and shiny as it had been before Paul had gone all artistic on it with a switchblade. David blinked hard as he studied the car closely, not quite believing what he was looking at.

It could have been just a trick of the light or maybe even a slight of hand on Lincoln's part but for some reason the bumper drew his attention. Somehow it seemed to have tilted slightly upwards, making it appear as if the car were actually grinning at him. Wait, the car was grinning?

"Oh you got to be kidding me." David hissed under his breath as his eyes widened in alarm. Suddenly that car seemed a lot more threatening than it had a moment before. It was no longer just a regular metal machine of working parts and exhaust. The car was smiling but not in a friendly way. Trust Lincoln to be the one to drive a possessed car. "_Oh shit_!"

A cold chill ran down David's spine as all three vampires shuddered simultaneously. At the sound of David's voice Marko and Paul instantly tensed as their bikes barked out at the much larger machine up ahead. They were as ready as they would ever be. All they needed was the word. However David wasn't quite ready to sound the trumpet and unleash the hounds just yet. He wanted to make sure that what he was seeing was really there and not just Lincoln playing mind games with him.

"Oh this is gonna be good." Turning his attention away from David for a minute Lincoln cackled softly as he fondly rubbed Baby's dashboard and wouldn't you know it, the car's engine began to purr.

"That's my girl." Lincoln cooed as he lowered his head and rubbed his forehead against the steering wheel. The car seemed to respond to this simple gesture of affection by switching off its high beams and dimming the headlights, as if it were closing its eyes. Not that it had eyes because it was a car and it would be stupid to think that cars had eyes. Or would it?

Paul and Marko paused for a second and looked at each other and then at David. Was this some sort of trick?

"Who's the Baby? Huh? Who's my Baby?" Lincoln clucked his tongue as he ran his hands all along the dashboard and the leather upholstery in order to get a feel for his car. Under his cold touch the car seemed warm and alive and the heavy pulse of the powerful LS6 engine vibrated into his core like a substitute heartbeat.

To Lincoln it felt like his car had woken up from a deep sleep and now they were connected, one and the same. He didn't have to be half out of his mind to question this. He just knew it. It had happened before but he couldn't remember when. But he knew for certain that the car was an old friend and very much alive. That car was more than just a machine. It was his Baby. The love of his undead life. It was a part of him and just as he was a part of it. The Chevelle was his Lady of the Night he loved it like he loved himself. This was his Baby and Baby always got her way.

"Lincoln loves his Baby. Wanna play? Yeeeeah, you wanna play don'tcha?" Lincoln asked in a child-like voice as he grabbed his seatbelt and buckled up. Instantly the engine revved itself and the deep vibrations shook the car's stocky frame slightly. Ohhh Baby wanted to play all right.

"That's my beautiful girl. Let's go get 'em. C'mon! Go get 'em! _Heeeere comes the Baby_!" Lincoln howled at the top of his voice as he grabbed the clutch with his right hand and shifted to first. The second his foot touched the accelerator Baby roared into action with its headlights spearing the Lost Boys like twin death rays.

"MOVE!" David yelled but Paul and Marko were already in motion the second they heard the gears shift under that hood.

They managed to get out of the way by the skin of their teeth as the charger shot forward in an attempt to flatten them into the ground. The car had moved faster than any of them expected and it was a mad scramble to get their bikes back into position as the car fishtailed with a squeal of rubber and went for a second pass. This time they were ready.

"What's with the hot rod from hell man?" Paul shouted above the engine as he expertly swung his bike around and out of the Chevelle's way for a second time but didn't go tearing off down the street just yet. Now came the tricky part.

"Just stick to the plan!" David snapped as his Triumph growled dangerously. Lincoln had made the first move but that wasn't enough. It was time to start waving the red flag. David positioned his bike in the middle of the highway once again, making himself an irresistible target while Marko and Paul closed in from the sides, keeping enough distance from the car as the Chevelle came barreling down on David for a third time. "Marko!"

Tory's handgun gleamed in the car's headlights as Marko sighted down the barrel and let off two shots simultaneously. A loud squeal rang out as the bullets lodged in the car's side door with enough force to leave one hell of a hole. Yet despite Marko's perfect aim the bullets failed to reach their target. The only thing that stopped the blessed bullets from tearing right through the metal and hitting Lincoln was the Chevelle's reinforced inner frame.

_**Vvvvvvvvvggggrrrrrrrr.**_

The car's engine snarled in anger as Lincoln instinctively jerked the wheel to the side and sent the car careening off the highway and into a small drainage ditch along the side of the road. Paul let out a wild whoop as he revved his bike and reared it up on its back tire for a second in celebration. But it was short-lived.

The entire car shook on its axis as the engine roared out in what can only be describe as pure animalistic fury. It did not take kindly to being shot at but David, Marko and Paul didn't back down. Like hyenas closing in on a injured lion, the Boys edged closer to the car while keeping enough distance from it so that they could maneuver out of harms ways if need be.

Paul was the first to make his move as he took out his trusty baseball bat from his saddlebags and made a pass at the car. The left rear taillight shattered on impact as he swung the bat with expert ease and got the hell away from the car before Lincoln could leave tread marks on his face. As expected Lincoln's roar of anger sounded out from inside the cab while the Chevelle's tires kicked up clods of dirt as it shot backwards out of the ditch and swung around to face the boys. Man did that car look pissed off. They shot the Baby! This was war.

"'K David. Now what?" Paul asked as he and Marko carefully backed up behind David. David looked the car over for a moment as the wheels in his head churned. He quickly calculated the car's speed velocity to his own supernatural reflexes before he made his next move.

David really played up his actions as he reached behind him and grabbed something that had was slung over the back of his bike and hidden from view underneath his trench coat. Lincoln ripped off his glasses and narrowed his eyes into slits as he instantly recognized what David held aloft like the proverbial red flag. It was Sarah's jacket. And it was shredded and soaked in fresh blood.

David smirked as he shook the jacket out so that Lincoln good get a good look as his handiwork. He let a moment pass before he tossed it onto the hood of the car and left a large streak of red on one of Baby's white racing stripes. There, the gauntlet had been thrown.

"Oops." That was all that had to be said. There were no threats of severe bodily harm or highly creative forms of unending torture. There was no snarling or swearing or any of that Hollywood macho crap. It was just a simple "oops" and that was enough.

In an instant the acidic stink of burnt rubber engulfed the vampires as a thick haze of white smoke billowed up from behind the Chevelle like a cloud of smoke and brimstone. David and the others could only gape as the four thousand pound muscle car shot forward and pulled one _hell _of a wheelie.

That mean machine rocked back on the back tires for a moment as it roared forward and Marko yelped as the damn thing nearly came crashing down on top of his head like a gigantic metal Godzilla foot. He threw himself out of the way in the knick of time but his bike wasn't as lucky. A sickening metallic crunch made him wince but he couldn't stay around to mourn the loss of his bike. He had to stick to the plan or else he would have other things to worry about than dealing with Max.

"Here man!" Paul shouted out through the dense smoke as Marko rolled away from the car and bolted towards Paul's headlights. The guttural roar of Baby's engine bellowed out behind him as Paul reached out and grabbed him by the back of his jacket. Marko was onto the back of the bike before Paul palmed the throttle and got the hell away from that car.

"Go, go, go!" David shouted as he shot across the front of the Chevelle and circled the Triumph around in order to keep Lincoln's attention on him. It worked all right but David now had one hell of a tough time keeping enough distance between himself and the car because despite its bulky frame and heavy body the Chevelle came damn close to knocking him off his bike.

"Shit!" David swore as he planted his foot down and literally hauled the Triumph out of the way. He could feel the heat coming off the car in waves as it flashed past in yet another attempt to reduce his hide to road kill. David couldn't seem to shake the feeling that it was the car itself that was after him and not Lincoln. The car's actions seemed to anticipate David's moves and maybe he was crazy but David could have sworn that the car was learning from him. No Chevy that big could even come close to outmaneuvering his bike but that car just kept on coming.

"Round and round and round she goes, where she'll stop nobody knows!" Lincoln howled out as he quickly switched gears and began to chase David back, forth, up and down the stretch of highway.

The ring-round-the-rosy routine lasted for another minute until David couldn't wait any longer and took off after the others. He didn't even bother to check over his shoulder as he banked hard to the right and jackknifed a turn that sent the pursuing car careening to in other lane as Lincoln tried to match the move. David allowed himself a small smile as he kept his eyes on the road and lowered his head over the handlebars in order to make himself as small a target as possible. He wasn't going to leave anything to chance and as Lincoln chased him across Santa Carla David managed to keep one step ahead as he randomly turned and took off in another direction. The key to pulling off his little brainchild of a plan was to get Lincoln nice and confused. Easiest way to do that was to aggravate the heck out of him.

"Keep playin' Davey boy. I gots all night long." Lincoln muttered to himself as he hunkered down and went about trying to anticipate David's next move.

The game of cat and mouse took them toward the industrial side of town. David hoped that Lincoln was too distracted to recognize where they were going and for once luck was on his side. All Lincoln seemed to care about at the moment was turning David into a hood ornament and at one point he almost did.

"Woooohooo! Almost gotcha there Davey Boy!" Lincoln cackled as he shifted into third and cranked up his speed. Baby's headlights engulfed David as the chrome bumper inched closer and closer to the Triumph's back tire.

David took one look at the dwindling distance between his bike and Lincoln's car and pulled a sharp right that almost sent him spinning into a wall. Lincoln matched the move with better success and David was forced to weave left and right in order to avoid being run off the road.

They were coming down to the wire and David had all of his attention focused on the two run-down brick warehouses that loomed up ahead. Marko and Paul were waiting on the rooftops, hidden from sight. All David had to do was get the Chevelle between those two buildings and Lincoln wouldn't even know what hit him.

"_Get ready for it!"_

David narrowed his eyes against the stinging wind as he opened the throttle just enough to gain a few feet. Unable to resist the challenge Lincoln matched the speed and burned rubber to get on top of his dearly loathed blood brother. He didn't even see the two buildings as he roared on down the narrowing road and sprang the trap without realizing it.

"_Asta la vista Fucker!"_

Paul and Marko dove right out of the sky like a pair of thunderbolts as they plummeted straight for the car. The white racing stripes on the car acted like as bull's-eye as the two vampires zeroed in and…

_WHOAH!_

_SHIT!!_

**WHAM!**

Paul and Marko didn't even have enough time to scream as they slammed into each other head on at high speed and crashed to the ground in a crumpled heap of cracked skulls and tangled limbs. They missed the car by a meter. They missed. By a freaking meter!

What the fuck?

As if it had sensed the attack the car had slammed and skidded to a dead halt just as the two vampires were about to bulldoze right into it. Lincoln hadn't expected this and would have flown through the windshield had it not been for the seatbelt that kept him in the driver's seat. The momentum threw him forward and he whacked his head against the steering wheel, slicing his forehead open.

Bloodied and dazed Lincoln slumped over Baby's wheel with his fiery eyes glazed over while his senses were scattered willy nilly. He never saw the clutch move on its own. Baby growled, the sound coming out as an annoyed metallic grumble, before it threw itself into reverse and the gas pedal hit the floor as if stomped on by an invisible foot.

David shot a glance over his shoulder to see if the ambush had worked but instead of seeing twisted metal and scattered limbs he saw Marko and Paul moaning and groaning on the ground while the Chevelle took off down a side street and vanished between two abandoned warehouses.

That was not part of the plan.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" David swore as he cut his speed and swung his bike around. Okay now he was getting really annoyed with Lincoln. How the hell did the ambush fail? It was perfectly set up. How the hell did he get away?

"What the hell was that? How could you miss that car!" David was screaming as the Triumph skidded to a halt beside Paul and Marko. "It was right here! _Right here_! How did…how could you miss it? Both of you! _How the FUCK did you screw it up!_"

"Owwww my nads….." Paul answered David with an agonizing groan as he rolled onto his back, curled up in a fetal position and clutching the family jewels.

"Ah Christ." Marko hissed as he sat up and gingerly touched his right arm. His shoulder was dislocated and cracked in a number of places. "Hell Paul, your head's as hard as a fucking wrecking ball."

"Huuuuh?" Paul blinked as searing pain dimmed to a dull throb.

David's eyes flashed as he had to hold himself back from beating some sense into those two. It had been perfect. Perfect! He had had him right where he wanted him and those two blew it! How the hell did they miss a car as big as a god-damn boat?

"So help me god if you two don't get your asses moving I'll kill you myself. I don't need to remind you about what'll happen if Max finds out about this! You two fucking blew it! God damn it!" David swore venomously as he slammed a clench fist down on his bike and dented it. "Oh fuck!"

"Yaaa_aah_!" Marko let out a yelp as David hauled him roughly to his feet by his injured arm. Swearing every colour of the rainbow, David wrenched his arm back and snapped the joint back into place with more force than was necessary.

"Oh shut up!" David snarled at Marko before he grabbed Paul and yanked him to his feet. "Get back to the bikes and find him. If he leaves Santa Carla we're screwed so I don't care how you do it but you are going to find him. _Move!_"

Despite the pain they were in Paul and Marko knew better than to say anything. They had fucked up royally and now that Lincoln was onto them it would be even harder to take him down. Without so much as a whimper the two turned tail and booted it to where they had hidden Paul and Dwayne's bikes. With Marko's motorcycle turned into scrap metal and Dwayne out of commission they were smart enough to take his bike along as a spare just incase an emergency arose. Clearly this classified as an emergency.

Paul took a side street that was little more than an alley while Marko picked up on Baby's trail and took off after the car. They were in the industrial district and there were a number of places that a car like the Chevelle could hide in and they had to be fast as they searched every nook and cranny for the car. They just hoped that the car was still in the area because if Lincoln had taken off for the Santa Carla border there was no way that they would be able to catch up to him in time.

Instead of making a break for it Baby had back itself into an empty warehouse that had once been used to hold shipping cargo and turned itself off. The Chevelle's loud tell-tale growl could be heard for a mile off and until Lincoln came to his senses the car was going to sit quietly and wait.

The waiting game was quickly eliminated as Paul came to a halt outside the building. He carefully sniffed the wind as he looked around to see if Lincoln was lurking in a shadow, ready to ambush him. He had picked up the scent of Lincoln's blood a block away and had followed it here. Paul moved quickly as he killed his bike's engine and silently prowled around the back, looking for a way into the place. A man-sized hole in the steel wall was his way in and he quietly snuck into the building and came up a few feet from the Chevelle.

Since he didn't have a reflection he didn't have to worry about appearing in the car's rearview mirror. Taking it one silent step at a time he carefully approached the back of the car. It was too dark to make out Lincoln's form in the front seat but that didn't deter the vampire. He was going to have the satisfaction of being the one to carve out Lincoln's heart and eat it. With a wordless snarl Paul launched himself over the car and landed heavily on the hood with his arm pulled back and ready to punch right through the windshield and drag Lincoln out by his hair. Only he realized too late that Lincoln wasn't behind the wheel.

"Hey Sweetheart!" Lincoln cackled and sprang out of his hiding spot right above Paul's head. With an expert shot to the head, Lincoln's foot sent Paul flying headfirst straight into the wall, leaving a large dent in the ribbed steel. Blood dripped down Lincoln's face in rivulets as the gash on his forehead quickly scabbed over and he looked at Paul with an expression of utter glee on his face as he unclasped his Bowie knife.

Paul groaned and gingerly shook his head before he saw Lincoln standing over him with his knife glinting dangerously close to his face.

"Payback really is a bitch, ain't she Paulie boy." Lincoln grinned as he licked away a stream of blood that tricked down to the corner of his mouth. "But you'd know all about that huh?"

Paul's scream was muffled by Lincoln's leather jacket as he swooped down on the vampire and drove the Bowie straight through Paul's arm and into the wall behind him, pinning him there like a fly on the wall.

"Shhhhhh, shhhh now. It always hurts the first time. But we gotta finish what we started now and after that, you won't have ta worry yor pretty head about anythin' every again. Isn't that nice? Yeah." Lincoln cackled as he clamped his hand over Paul's mouth and forced his mouth shut just incase he got any ideas.

Paul tried to thrash about but Lincoln's body pinned him expertly against the wall. Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!!

"_MARKO!"_

Lincoln's cheery expression vanished as he snarled and slammed his fist into Paul's face, once, twice, three times before he knocked Paul unconscious with serious bone fractures that would heal in no time at all.

"Now don't you go doin' that. That's cheatin'. I hate cheaters even though I am one. Kinda hypocritical huh?" Lincoln growled as he traced his claws down Paul's neck and stopped right at the main artery. It would be sooooo easy to slice him open and let him bleed to death but where was the fun in that? After spending all day locked in the trunk of his car Lincoln had thought up fitting ends for the Lost Boys and he wasn't going to let them have the easy route of a quick and easy death. He wasn't feeling merciful that night.

Lincoln snapped out of his thoughts as he heard a second bike approach the warehouse. That wasn't a Triumph's engine he heard so it had to be the curly haired vampire coming to answer Paul's little mental S.O.S. Perfect.

"Yo Marko!" Paul's voice rang out loud and clear as Marko spotted his bike out by the back of the building.

"Paul?" Marko called out as he hopped of his bike, but left it running. His senses were telling him that something was off but he had heard Paul's cry for help and knew that he needed help. Staying low and to the shadows, Marko quickly scampered over to the same hole in the wall that Paul had slipped through. Unlike Paul, Marko stuck to the wall and carefully surveyed the area. He saw the car but there was no sign of Paul or Lincoln.

"Paul?" Marko hissed as he picked up on the scent of the blood of both vampires. Oh great.

"Over here man! I got him!" Paul's laughter echoed throughout the building.

"Paul where are you?" Marko asked, still not quite at ease with the situation. He still had that feeling that something was wrong.

"Over here! Dude! You won't believe this!" Paul's voice beckoned off to the left. Marko zeroed in on the voice and saw Paul faintly behind a stack of oil drums, waving him over.

"What?" Marko sighed as he jogged over to where Paul was. He stopped dead when he got a closer look. Paul wasn't waving but swaying slightly from side to side on the end of a thick rusted chain that was wrapped around his neck and hung over a beam overhead.

"You're fucked." Lincoln laughed as he popped up behind the stunned vampire and rammed a heavy lead pipe across his skull, dropping him like a bag of bricks. "Ahhh I love my job."

Indeed he did.

Marko was strung up by his neck alongside Paul and even though he was tempted to gut the pair like slaughter house cows he stayed his hand and left them there. He'd be back after he dealt with David to finish them off. He wanted to have some fun with those two and he wanted them conscious and squealing. After the shit they pulled on him he was going to give Marko and Paul a taste of their own god damn medicine.

Baby's headlights blinked on and her engine began to purr as Lincoln sauntered over to the car and slid into the driver's seat with one hell of a grin on his smug face. He grabbed his Aviators and slipped them on before he put Baby into drive and pealed out of the warehouse with his rear tires smoking. He drove down on alleyway before turning into the other, gunning the power engine so that he made one hell of a loud racket. With Marko and Paul out of commission he was done with the hide and sneak. He was calling David out and it was only a matter of time before his darling blood brother heard the challenge.

On the other side of the warehouse sector was Santa Carla's old train yard that was little more than an ancient wreck of rusted rails, rotten ties and a few rust-ridden train cars that were left behind to decay at the mercy of the elements. It was this train yard that was the scene of the grizzly massacre that was Lincoln's handiwork. Twenty years later it was still considered one of the most haunted places in the area and not even the least intelligent gang members that haunted the Boardwalk ever went there after dark.

So it was fitting that Lincoln should come across David on a small stretch of road that ran alongside the train yard. Maybe David planned this all along, maybe he hadn't, but Lincoln didn't give a damn.

David sat on the Triumph and stared down the road where Lincoln put Baby in park. He couldn't get a read off Marko or Paul and he wasn't an idiot. Lincoln must have gotten to them. If they were dead or still kicking he didn't know. He'd deal with that later. Right now he had to take Lincoln off the map in order to save his own skin. That's all that mattered. He wasn't going to let Max off him because of Lincoln's schemes.

Lincoln watched David in the distance as he opened the glove compartment and took out a small pack of Cuban cigars. He selected one, bit the end off and spat it out on the road before he lit the sucker. Did he think that David had a chance at beating him? Probably. Lincoln didn't have delusions of being indestructible. He was here to kill David and David was here to kill him. Someone was going to die and Lincoln would be damned if he was going to go out without a good smoke.

"_How about one for old time's sake Dave?_"

Lincoln mentally called out as he lifted his smoldering cigar out the window in a type of salute.

David leaned forward and kick started the Triumph. He paused for a moment before he opened the throttle and let the Triumph take off straight at the Chevelle. Thanks but no thanks.

Lincoln chuckled as David came tearing down the road, quickly closing the gap between them. Chomping the cigar between his molars, Lincoln took his sweet time as he feathered the breaks while he stomped on the gas. Baby's rear tires kicked up a fuss and pulled one hell of a burnout before he switched gears and the Chevelle charged forward like a racehorse out of the starting gate.

The distance between the Triumph and the Chevelle vanished as the two came crashing down on each other in a warped game of chicken. Neither Lincoln nor David dared to back off at the last minute. It was all or nothing now. The Triumph's higher pitched growl was drowned out by Baby's angry bellow as the muscle car blazed ahead and rammed into the smaller vehicle with all of her horses in full throttle. The motorcycle didn't stand a chance.

David timed the point of impact and just as the front grill smashed into the Triumph's front tire David used the force of the impact to launch himself at the windshield. The sheet of glass shattered into hundreds of thousands of sharp tiny fragments that went everywhere as David torpedoed into Lincoln with enough force to make him loose control of the car. The two vampires went at it screeching and snarling as the Chevelle veered off the road, went right through the chain link fence that surrounded the abandoned train yard and hit a rut. Unable to avoid the impossible the massive car flipped over and started to roll with the two vampires trapped inside it. It got three good rolls before it somehow came to a halt on its wheels, battered, scratched, dented and smoking under the hood.

The collision left the two vampires dazed but David was the first to recover. He had somehow got himself wedged between the two front seats and it took him a moment to untangle himself. Lincoln was worse for wear but that didn't matter because the second David managed to free himself the fight was on.

David grabbed Lincoln in a vicious headlock and launched them both through the busted windshield. Fighting in Baby was like fighting to swing a cat in a sardine can. David and Lincoln hit the ground rolling as they continued to scrap it out. There were no wild punches or kicks, no round house kicks to the head or arm bending. That was the way humans fought. Not vampires. David and Lincoln fought tooth and claw like a couple of wild lions. With their nails embedded into each other they struck out with their teeth, snapping at anything they could reach and tore flesh right off the bone. God awful sounds came from the two as they tussled, tugged, rolled, grappled and bucked. Sprays of blood began to coat the gravel strewn ground as they tore through clothing in order to get at the vital organs. The battle lasted for no more than a minute before they forced themselves apart for a moment to survey the damage that each had done to the other. Oh god, what a mess.

David staggered back a few feet like a prize fighter that had just had his head bashed in by one of Rocky's southpaw blows. He blinked slowly but never took his eyes off of Lincoln. Each had given as good as he got and it showed. David's nose was gone. Bitten clean off. But that was nothing. His right thigh had an bloody eleven inch gash in it where Lincoln's bowie had managed to rip into him and he could barely keep himself upright on his one good leg. His ears were torn to shreds, his shoulders were mauled where Lincoln's teeth had taken pieces out and he had a set of claw marks down his chest that would have killed him if he were still alive.

Lincoln looked just as bad as David. Where he did most of his damage to David's face and neck, David had tried to disembowel Lincoln and shatter his spine. A good chunk of the flesh on his lower jaw was missing. Either David swallowed it or spat it out somewhere on the ground, Lincoln didn't know. His left eye was filled with blood and he wasn't sure if he had lost it for good or not. His stomach on the other hand was in worse shape. He was barely held together by a few inches of skin. David's claws left deep gouging zigzag patterns that had punctured god knows what in there and judging by the amount of blood that was coming from those gashes, it was pretty bad.

The two vampires glared at each other as they took their moment to size one another up for the next round. They didn't even utter so much as a growl before they lunged at each other for the second time.

Game on.


	18. Taking The Stairway

**Helloooooooooo Sportsfans!**

**How ya doin'? Long time no see! When was the last time I updated this monster? December? Gah! Well fear not fellow readers, this dinosaur of a story will finally be put to rest shortly. And so I introduce the beginning of the end! Or rather the chapter before the big finish. Stay tuned for tons of fun and excitement in the near future. And I mean it this time. So place your bets. Who do you think is going to be lucky enough to walk out of the story alive? I'm promising a maximum body count. So buckle up and hold on to your butts cause we are so going going gooooooooooone!**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

"_It's Monday night and there are four more days 'til Friday. Don't worry folks J. P. Jones here has the tunes to cure you of those workday blues. From coast to coast on the hour every hour I got a shout-out here dedicated to everyone who stands for Truth, Justice and the American way. The folks down in Santa Carla California wanna remind you all that it's always the darkest before the dawn, you gotta fight for your right to party, and it's always a good time to get high with a little help from your friends. Whatever that means. Anyways folks here's the one and only Led Zeppelin playin' that unforgettable hit that we all know and love. Maybe a little too much. This is J. P. Jones sayin' it's time to go out and buy yourself a _Stairway to Heaven."

"Edgar we shouldn't be here." Ian hissed between clenched teeth as he gamely hung onto the old wooden railing that was the only thing that prevented him from tumbling straight down into the crashing surf below. Hanging off the side of a cliff face on a rickety wooden staircase that was a second away from collapsing like a house of cards was not his idea of a search and rescue. It was more of an attempted suicide.

"Shut up and keep moving." Edgar barked from behind as he shone his industrial flashlight in Ian's face. They only had fifteen minutes before the tide rose and they had to be in that cave before the waves sucked them into the unforgiving surf. The success of the whole operation rested on timing. Without it they were screwed. Again. But it was better not to go there.

"I'm trying." Ian snapped back as he squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed hard. He could feel the acidic burn of bile tickle the back of his throat and it made him want to puke right on Edgar's shoes. Maybe that would teach the guy a lesson for dragging people into things they didn't want to have any part in. Ian didn't like heights. Not even little heights. If it were up to him he would still be standing up on solid ground, not on the staircase. Not again.

"Quit trying and do it man. You did it before!" Edgar growled as he tried to usher Ian forward. He didn't dare pass him because the stairs didn't look stable enough to hold the weight of two people.

"There wasn't a storm coming our way before. And I wasn't leading." Ian grumbled as he breathed in deeply and put one foot in front of the other. The wooden step beneath him creaked as he put his full weight on it but thankfully it held.

"Well now you are so suck it up and keep moving. If you don't I'll make you." Edgar tapped Ian between the shoulder blades with his flashlight. Below them the waves raced toward the cliff face and slammed against the rocks with such force that Edgar could feel the sea spray from where he stood.

"Oh shove a sock in it Edgar." Ian snapped as he wiped the back of his hand across his forehead. He kept his eyes forward so that he wouldn't have to see the churning waves below waiting to swallow him up and dash him against the rocks. "Don't look down. Just don't look down."

Edgar snorted as he adjusted his grip on the heavy metal flashlight and kept pace with Ian as the guy carefully inched his way down the stairs, one creaking step at a time.

"Tell me again why we're back here? If I remember correctly we almost died when you guys decided to "bring the fight to the enemy." Ian muttered out of the corner of his mouth as a freezing cold gust of wind blew off the ocean and made his teeth chatter like castanets.

"It's eleven o'clock. The vampires won't be inside. This is the only time we have to find your friend." Edgar reminded Ian for the third time that night as he quickly shot a glance over his shoulder to see if anyone was following them. The staircase was empty. That was both a good and bad thing. It was good because the vampires were nowhere to be seen but it was a bad thing because Allan and Tory still hadn't shown up yet.

"How can you be sure?" Ian asked as he clung to the wooden railing with both hands as the staircase started to sway from the force of the wind.

"You have to trust me." Edgar grimly replied as he braced himself and waited until the rocking stopped before he continued downward.

"Trust you? After what happened last night? Please tell me you're joking." Ian snorted as he braved the inevitable and scampered down the last four steps before he looked over his shoulder.

Edgar paused and glared down at Ian with an expression most fifteen year olds didn't have the ability to summon.

"Does it look like I'm joking?"

The edge in Edgar's voice was unmistakable.

"It's hard to tell under all that makeup." Ian moved his jacket aside and unhooked his flashlight from his belt as he flicked his wayward bangs out of his eyes.

"Listen you," Edgar growled as he stomped down the staircase. When his feet hit the platform he roughly grabbed Ian by the front of his leather jacket and yanked him forward so that they were an inch a part. "I've had enough of your stupid wise-cracks. You're the one who wanted to rescue this girl so you're the one who's going to help me find her. Keep it up and I'll leave you here. Maybe the bloodsuckers will be a little more forgiving than I will if you don't shut up! And it's not make-up, it's war paint. Got it?"

"Alright fine." Ian swallowed and brought his hands up in a show of peace. Edgar gave him a dangerous look before he released his hold and gave the mouth of the vamp lair a quick study. For a moment both teens stood in silence with their flashlights trained on the large pitch black cave that loomed in front of them like some sort of overly-creepy Boardwalk attraction. Only this wasn't a shits and giggles tourist trap, this was for real.

"Can you at least tell me why we didn't try this during the day? Because that would have made a hell of a lot more sense than doing this now." Ian asked as he checked his pockets with his free hand to make sure that he had the garlic bombs and wooden stake that Edgar had provisioned him with. His fingers brushed the small pointed cross that the Frogs had given him a few days earlier and for a moment Ian wondered if Tory was all right. She had been acting strange all day but every time he called her on it she was alright she'd just brush it off as nothing. She told him that she was just tired.

Somehow he didn't believe her.

"They would've expected it." Edgar unsheathed a stake and kept his flashlight pointed directly in front of him. "This way we can do what we need to do without them knowing."

"Yeah because who in their right mind would pull the same stupid stunt twice?" Ian muttered out loud.

"Exactly."

Ian gave Edgar an incredulous look and motioned for Edgar to lead the way. He had gone down the staircase first so Edgar could brave the cave like the commando he thought he was. Ian didn't want to go in there again. They had barely made it out the last time. But Tink was in there. He had to try.

"Well, here goes nothing…again." Ian sighed as Edgar picked his way over the rocks, his flashlight trained on the barely visible path that they had followed the last time they had braved the cave. A cold chill rippled down Ian's spine as he followed the Frog into the dark unknown. It felt like the Grim Reaper had just sneezed on him.

"Don't fear the Reaper." Ian swallowed hard.

"What's that?"

"N-n-nothing." Ian's teeth chattered as he shivered. God it was freaking cold down there.

Edgar just arched an eyebrow before he continued forward, the flashlight's bright beam sweeping left to right in an attempt to illuminate anything suspicious or potentially lethal.

"Feel that?" Ian asked in a hushed voice as he quickly shot a final glance over his shoulder. There was some sort of presence near them. Even he could feel it.

Edgar brought his fist up in a "don't move" motion as he quickly scanned the cave walls for a sign of anything out of the ordinary. All he saw were damp jagged rock walls as far as the eye could see.

"They know we're here." Edgar's eyebrows knitted together into a fearsome scowl as he glared into the inky shadows, as if daring them to give up their secrets.

"What!?" Ian croaked as he tripped over to Edgar's side, eliminating as much space between the two of them as humanly possible. _"What the hell does that mean!"_

Edgar slowly turned his head to the side and gave Ian the stink eye that just seemed to fly right over Ian's radar as the guy clutched Edgar's right arm in a death grip. _What a tool_.

"It means that they somehow put up a sensor. Just keep your head on your shoulders Mary Sue and your mouth shut. We're safe enough for now." Snorted the Frog. He wrenched his arm free and carefully lowered himself onto his haunches, unslinging a canister full of holy water from over his shoulder as he did so. Ian quickly followed suit, crouching down so that he wouldn't make a nice tempting target. Hey, Edgar had been wrong before about the vampires. He could very well be wrong about them again.

"How do you figure that if we just set off their paranormal doorbell? Huh?"

"Because moron, if they were actually inside we would be dead by now. There's no way that they'd let us get this close a second time. David's smart, but not that smart." Edgar quickly unscrewed the canister's cap and began to pour a liberal amount of holy water in a straight line on the rocky ground, starting from one wall and working his way across to the other.

"Oh. Wait…huh?" Ian was confused. "What if they're inside and waiting for us though? You know, _like the last time?_"

A muscle in Edgar's jaw twitched as he ground his teeth together. Where the hell was Allan when he needed him?

"Because Einstein, after what happened "the last time" they wouldn't even chance us getting this far again. Better to take us out in the open rather than endanger their nest, not when one of their own is seriously injured thanks to your girlfriend. If we had tried this during the day it would have blown up in our faces. Even a sleeping bloodsucker can still be dangerous. And they would have had the element of surprise." Edgar rose to his feet and splashed the remaining holy water on the walls. Ian hoisted himself to his feet and hugged his flashlight to his chest.

"Uh huh. Right. What are you doing?" He watched as Edgar twisted the cap back onto the canister and sling the metal water container across his chest.

"Holy water creates a barrier that they can't cross. It'll keep them out of they try to enter the cave but it won't last long. It all depends on how strong a vampire we're dealing with. Hey, I'm no priest so it might not even work." Edgar picked up his stake and picked his way over the uneven rubble while Ian stalked close behind, almost stepping on his heels.

"Then why bother?" Ian stretched out his arms to keep his balance as he stumbled over an upturned stone that did its best to break his ankle. An image of a priestly Edgar Frog popped into his mind, complete with a bible in one hand and a rocket launcher in the other. The red bandana even clashed against the white cleric collar. Ian had to choke back a snicker as he quickly shoved the mental picture out of his mind. Edgar, a priest? It would never happen.

"Better safe than sorry." Edgar responded.

"There's nothing safe about any of this." Ian swallowed as he shied past what he thought was a pile of bleached bones but only turned out to be driftwood.

Edgar silently agreed.

"Alright, there's the main cavern. Keep your flashlight up and check the ceiling. I'll do a scope of the floor. And will you hold that stake properly? He barked softly as he knocked Ian's arm up with a nudge of his elbow. Now was not the time for sloppy showmanship. They had a potential suck monkey victim to find.

Ian carefully peered into the gloom and tried to make out what he was seeing. It looked like half of Santa Carla's unwanted junk littered the place. What was with these guys and trash? Pack rats much?

"Should we light a barrel or something?" Ian whispered out of the corner of his mouth as he and Edgar remained crouched at the entrance. Dust motes lazily drifted past the bright beams of artificial light that tried to pierce the nooks and crannies that might conceal a potentially lethal surprise.

Edgar didn't respond as he squinted hard as his flashlight passed over something that looked human shape. Could it be? Nope, false alarm. It was only a yellow surf board propped up against a large red tower toolbox in the corner. Upon closer inspection the surfboard has a huge gash across it. Work of a hungry Great White or maybe a vampire that had a taste for tow-headed surfers?

"Edgar?"

"We shouldn't go in without back-up. Gimme the radio." Edgar clicked off his flashlight and held out his hand expectantly.

Ian's reaction time was a few seconds slower than Edgar would have liked but he gave him the two-way radio without fumbling around or dropping anything. Allan would have had the communications device ready and waiting had he been there. Not to knock Ian or anything but Edgar knew that the guy would never cut it as a Vampire Hunter. He was just too slow.

Speaking of slow, his brother and the loud-mouthed big shot should have been there by now.

"This is Frogspawn to Toadjam. Frogspawn to Toadjam over." Edgar put out the call as quietly as he could but to Ian's ears it was too loud for comfort. Didn't Edgar realize that these vampires had super-sensitive hearing? And what was with the names? Frogspawn?

Edgar waited for the call-back but static was the only sound that came out of the radio.

"Toadjam are you there?" Edgar growled as he released the call-back button. C'mon Allan.

"What's wrong?" Ian asked. His flashlight illuminated the tense expression on the Frog Brother's face. Edgar squinted sharply and muttered a muted growl as he shoved Ian's arm out of the way so that the light was directed back into the cavern.

"Toadjam do you copy?" Quit fooling around and answer damn it."

"You don't think something happened do you?" Ian worried his lower lip as he put to voice what they both were thinking.

"Shut up."

The warning was clear. Edgar didn't want to hear it.

"But…"

"Shut up Ian!"

The bite in Edgar's voice was sharp enough to cut through the large cavern and rebound back to them.

"Lil' bitchy there Edgar. If I didn't know better I'd say you were worried."

Both Ian and Edgar jumped about a mile in either direction as two ice-cold hands grabbed them by the scruffs of their necks. Ian dropped the flashlight and grabbed his stake with both hands. He had every intention of ramming it into a body part while Edgar swore a string of words that would have made General Patton proud as he wrenched himself around.

"Gotcha!"

That voice was all-too familiar.

"Jesus Tory! What the hell!" Ian lowered the stake and ran a hand through his hair as he shrugged off Tory's hand. Jeez Louise, the hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end. "You almost have us a freaking heart attack!"

"Speak for yourself." Edgar snarled as he shot Tory his best scowl and adjusted his equipment vest.

Instead of coming through with some sort of snarky remark Tory just grinned and tossed her hair over her shoulder. She had almost made them crap their pants and they darn well knew it.

"Where's Allan?" The Head Frog demanded as Tory plunked herself down between the two of them, right after she hip-checked Ian. "And where's your flashlight?"

Tory gave Edgar a side-long glance before she jerked her thumb over her shoulder. Sure enough, Allan slowly picked his way through the tunnel his progress hampered by the fact that he had to rely on a zippo lighter to light the way.

"G. I. Shmo over here dropped them into the ocean. It's a good thing that I have excellent night vision." Tory replied, not bothering to keep the smug as hell look off her face.

"I did not!" Allan retorted before he tripped over a hidden piece of limestone.

"_Suuuuuuuure_ ya didn't. They just launched themselves off the cliff did they?" Snorted Tory. She peered into the cave, missing the calculating look Edgar gave her as he studied her for a second with a guarded expression.

"Wasn't my fault the step gave way." Allan grumbled hotly as he finally managed to reach the group. He sunk down onto his heels and pocketed the lighter. "Storm's getting worse. The waves tried to sweep up away, hence no flashlights."

Ian moved over as Allan shook himself like a dog, sending water droplets every which way. Up close it was easy to see how drenched he was. Tory however seemed to have gotten off lightly. Barely wet at all. Strange.

"Whatever you say." Tory snickered as she palmed a piece of grape flavoured chewing gum and popped it into her mouth. A moment later she spat it out with a grimace. "Blech. Nasty."

Allan was about to say something before his brother dragged him aside in order to discuss entry tactics. They couldn't afford another major screw-up and despite what he said earlier Edgar wasn't one hundred percent certain that the vampire lair was empty. There was also another issue that he wanted to clarify with his brother, so while the two Frogs put their heads together Ian and Tory were left crouched at the enterance.

"You feeling alright?" Ian asked as Tory picked at her teeth with her pinky nail.

"Never better. Why?" She said as she flicked her heavily hair sprayed bangs out of her eyes.

Ian took a moment to look her over closely and shrugged. "You weren't looking so hot today. I thought that maybe…"

"That maybe I was too fragile to do this again?"

Ian shook his head.

"No. No that's not what I...," He protested but Tory cut him off as she reached forward and snagged him in an iron-tight headlock.

"Awwwwww you're worried about me." She chuckled as she ran her knuckles over his skull, messing up his already flighty hair.

"Tory!" Ian squirmed as he tried to free himself.

"Ya know Ian, you're cute when you worry so much." Tory grinned and planted a lip-stick kiss on the crown of his head.

Okay Ian hadn't seen that one coming. Did she…did she just kiss him? Kind of?

"Mmmm you smell good." Tory buried her nose in his hair and breathed in deeply.

Huh?

"Don't look now but I think the Commandos are gonna single the charge." Tory released Ian and scooted back.

"Right you two. Here's the plan." Edgar announced when he and Allan crept back to the starting position.

"Ohhhh a plan. Will it work this time?" Tory asked innocently. But clearly there was nothing innocent about that remark.

The Frog Brothers simultaneously gave her the same withered look and Tory just laughed.

"So what are you going to do?" Ian interjected, hoping to diffuse the situation. They were going to need everyone on board for this. Thankfully the Frogs were on the same brainwave and ignored Tory's smart remark.

"We go in. I'll lead, you two in the middle and Allan will bring up the rear. Stakes out at all times and keep your flashlights trained on any large dark patch. The sooner we get in the sooner we can find your friend and the sooner we can leave. Any questions?" Edgar asked.

"Uh yeah. I got one. What if she's already dead?" Tory asked as she rose to her feet and calmly brushed herself off.

Edgar looked at Allan nodded.

"If she's dead then there's nothing we can do. If they turned her we're going to have to exterminate her. It's the humane thing to do." Allan told them as he fingered the sharp wooden stake he had shoved into his belt.

"Yeah, sure it is. You two have issues." Tory said as she took out a small flashlight and clicked it on. "So are we going to do this thing or stand here and become breakfast?"

Ian just sighed.

"That would be an improvement." Edgar shot back as he adjusted his bandana and began his decent down the precarious ramp. Tory rolled her eyes and followed, the beam from her flashlight bouncing all over the place. Ian adjusted his leather jacket and began to follow but Allan held him back.

"What?" Ian asked as Allan's eyes followed Tory's silhouette as she vanished into the darkness.

"Just so you know, be careful around her. There's something funny going on and I have a bad feeling." He murmured in a hushed voice so that his voice wouldn't echo.

"Like what?" Ian frowned. So he wasn't the only one who thought Tory had been acting a little stranger than usual during the day.

"I dunno. But my feelings are never wrong." He replied before he motioned Ian to go down the ramp. They didn't say anything else as they tried to remain silent as the foursome prowled about the cave, poking around to see what they could find. There was no sign of Tink.

Ian's eyes constantly shifted to Tory as he watched her when she wasn't looking. She seemed normal now. Hyper and mouthy as always. But during the day she hadn't been the life of the party. Maybe the vampires had affected her more than they had the rest of them.

After they had gone through the cave from top to bottom and came up with nothing Edgar motioned toward the large fissure in the wall that looked like it could be a tunnel. Four bright beams of light zeroed in on the tunnel and the teenagers cautiously crept along it, each one standing within touching distance from the person in front of them. There was no denying it was more than a little creepy. It was cold enough for their breaths to come out in clouds of vapor. There was no doubt about it, that place was certainly vamp territory.

Pity though. They were too busy trying not to bump into each other that no one seemed to notice a pair of hellish eyes gleaming in the darkness behind them.

"Look! Over there! I think it's a room." Tory whispered as she poked Edgar in the ribs with her flashlight.

"It's not a room." He growled over his shoulder but Tory just poked him again. This time a little harder.

"Oh yeah Einstein? Well there's a bed in it. If there's a bed in it then it's a room." Tory hissed in his ear and nudged him in the direction of what used to be Sarah's sleeping nook.

"A bed? I can't see anything." Ian squinted as his flashlight bounced off the rocky arch that could have been the doorway.

"Just trust me okay?" Tory asked as she grabbed Ian by the sleeve of his jacket and dragged him after her. Allan followed at a cautious pace, constantly scouring the shadows for any unsuspecting surprises. He brought his flashlight behind him but by then the eyes had vanished.

"What are you doing? Gonna wait until you're invited in?" Tory asked as Edgar stood in the entranceway, blocking it completely. Edgar quickly brought his hand up and motioned for everyone to be quiet. He pointed into the small cave and raised his stake in a menacing fashion.

There was something in there.

Allan shoved Ian and Tory to the side, making sure they were out of the way, before he joined Edgar. With a nod Edgar clicked off his flashlight and unhooked a water pistol filled with holy water while Allan brought his flashlight up and shone it over his brother's shoulder while he kept his stake at the ready. Without a sound the two Frogs entered the cave and quietly made their way to what looked to be an old brass bed frame shoved into the far corner. On it they could just make out the outline of a person. A person with a very girly and colorful jacket.

"Is she in there?" Tory hissed as she poked her head into the cave. She didn't enter it because the Frogs waved her back. They had to see if she was still alive. If she wasn't, they'd have to make sure that she was actually dead.

Ian shuffled on the spot, his heart pounding, totally caught up in the suspense of the moment. He could help but shiver as he tucked his arms close to his chest and blew on his hands. God it was freezing!

"Is it just me or did it get colder in here?" Ian asked as he tugged on the back of Tory's panther painted jacket. His hand was shaking and he could have sworn his fingers were turning blue. "Tory."

"What?"

She didn't bother to look at him. Her attention was fixed on the Frog Brothers.

Ian rubbed his hands together and took a step back and as he did so his combat boot stepped on something that wasn't hard ground. That the? Ian looked down and shone his flashlight on his foot. Okay there was his foot. And there was a scuffed black and white Converse running shoe. A shoe?

"T-t-t-t-t-Tory….Tory…," His words came out in a faint squeak. Ian was trying very hard not to start screaming.

"What?" Tory grumbled, still eyeing the Frog brothers as they moved around the bed.

"He-he-help…me."

"Oh for the love of God Ian, what is it. Ah. _Oh_." Tory turned around and her eyes went directly over Ian's head. Standing behind Ian was a very tall, very hungry, and very pissed-off looking vampire. It would have been an understatement to say that Dwayne was anything less than murderous right then.

"Do you think she's one of the undead?" Allan asked as he shone his flashlight onto Sarah's face. She was as white as a ghost and chained to the bed frame. She had to be a vampire. Who would bother to chain a corpse to a bed?

"Only one way to make sure." Edgar growled as he raised his water pistol and took aim, right at her face.

_**HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!**_

"FROGS!" Tory's shriek was outmatched by a vicious roar that was loud enough to wake the dead.

No really.

The Frog Brothers jumped when they heard Ian scream and then scream again while something nasty snarled and snapped while Tory swore over and over again. Edgar and Allan shared a startled look before something equally surprising made them jump a second time.

Sarah sat upright on the bed, her hands shackled to the bedposts. She blinked and then stared at the two camo-wearing teens, just as surprised to see them as they were to see her. There was nothing human about her eyes…or her teeth.

"Oh shit!" Allan swore.

"What?" Sarah asked the two before another gut-wrenching scream made them all glance in the direction that it came from.

"FROGS! GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE _NOW!"_ Tory yelled as loud as she could. Boy was it loud. "YOU! GET YOUR GOD-DAMN HANDS OFF OF HIM! HE'S MINE BITCH!"

"Oh crap! Ian!" Edgar swore loudly. He gave Sarah a final look before he turned and bolted out of the room. So it ended up that there were two vampires in the nest. One was chained to a bed. The other was trying to sink his fangs into Ian. Again. On a scale of one to ten saving Ian's hide was more important. And it wasn't as if Little Miss Pixie was about to fly away to Neverland.

Allan looks at the stake in his hands then at Sarah. Sarah arched an eyebrow as she eyed the stake. Typical. Instead of snarling or kicking up some sort of a fuss she just shook her head and tugged at the shackles that were clamped tightly around her wrists.

"Uh, could you?" She asked Allan as she lifted her hands and pulled the chains tight. She doubted that he had the key but maybe he had a file in his arsenal or something useful for a change.

"Heh." Allan swallowed before he just lost his nerve completely. Without so much as a peep he turned around and ran after Edgar leaving Sarah sitting there in complete darkness. He'd rather be wherever his brother was. Left alone with a blood sucking vampire was not in the job description. Well it probably was but for now he could turn a blind eye to it.

"Huh. Men." Sarah snorted before she took stock of her surroundings. Well if she wanted to get something done she was just going to have to do it herself. Now, did she have any bobby pins? Why yes, yes she did.

"Hang on Ian!" Edgar hollered above the noise as he charged into the main cavern and stumbled to a stop. Running like mad Allan tore out of the bleak tunnel with his eyes glued to the back of his skull just in case Sarah decided to fly after him with the notion that he'd make a great midnight snack.

"She's a vampire! One of the undead! We're actually going to have to kill her!" Allan exclaimed after he had accidentally ran right into his brother and sent Edgar staggering.

Edgar picked himself off the ground just as Tory came tearing past with what looked like half a partially rotted wooden bedpost in her hands. She swung it over her head like a baseball bat and tried to hit the black haired vampire in the back but he ducked just in time and her swing went wide.

"Shiiiiit!" Tory swore as the momentum behind her swing spun her right around and down she went right on her ass. "Oomph!"

Dwayne snarled in annoyance before he lunged out of the way with Ian clutched tightly in his claws.

"LITTLE HELP HERE!" Ian hollered as he bit, kicked and punched but Dwayne wasn't having any of it.

"Shut up you annoying brat!" Dwayne snarled as he shook Ian hard and clamped his left hand over the kid's mouth. Damn that guy's screams were starting to get on his nerves. But not as much as the persistent pain in the ass that was trying to beat him with a stick.

"FROGS! Quit standing there like a couple of douches and help me!" Tory snapped as she sprang to her feet and chased after Dwayne with the bedpost constantly trying to knock him down. How she managed to keep up with him was a mystery but if it wasn't for her constant attacks Dwayne would have ripped Ian's throat out eons ago.

"Jesus Christ not again." Edgar groaned.

"Well what are we waiting for? Four against one. Good odds." Allan pointed out as he shoved his flashlight between his teeth and pulled out a holy hand grenade out of his pocket. "Lesh do thish!"

"Right." Edgar nodded and twirled his water pistol as if it were a six-shooter. Now was the time to prove to the world that the Frog Brothers were made of the right stuff. It was time for vampires to die. Well, vampire.

"DIE SATAN SPAWN!"

"FROGS FOR THE WIN!"

Dwayne bared his teeth and let out an ungodly roar as the Frog Brothers join in the fray. He was going to have to end this and soon. He didn't chance flying because he was still too weak to get himself off the ground. Hell he could barely keep one step ahead of these psycho twits. Why the hell didn't David kill these stupid kids when he had the chance?

_Ah fuck!_

Dwayne dodged another hefty blow to the back of his head as he spun around and snagged the bedpost as Tory tried to go for a back-swing. She cursed as she tugged hard to free her weapon but Dwayne didn't let go. Instead he lifted the wooden post with Tory still clinging to the other end and chucked her into the busted chandelier that was cradled in the old fountain basin. Tory landed hard and the wooden beam flew out of her hands. She just missed being impaled on one of the sharp metal tines.

"Owwww." Tory shook her head as she say a few stars blink in front of her eyes. Edgar and Allan charged past her, swerving around the fountain as they tried to trap Dwayne between them.

"Mmmmfffff!" Ian tried to call out a warning but Dwayne had his mouth in a vice grip. All he could do was squirm and try to make it as difficult for the vampire as possible. At one point he had almost managed to free himself but Dwayne shoved him into an iron headlock before he could get out of the way. If Ian didn't think of something fast he was going to end up dead. Just like the last time. Only this time Tory wasn't going to save the day by shooting the guy in the back.

"Let him go!" Edgar hollered as he released a stream of water in Dwayne's direction. It was a miss.

"Back off chumps!" Dwayne snarled as he wrenched Ian around and used him as a human shield as Allan's holy water balloon exploded against Ian's chest, soaking his shirt completely.

"Oh yeah? Make us!" Allan barked as he charged at Dwayne from the right in a liner-backer tackle move that their old gym teacher had made them practice fifty times a day to build stamina and learn how to take a beating. It looked good in theory but trying to tackle a vampire was like trying to catch air. One minute Allan was in perfect range but before he could connect the vampire and Ian were gone. All Allan got for his efforts was an epic face plant into the ground and a world of hurt.

"Where'd he go?" Edgar spun around on his heels as he grabbed for his flashlight and sought out the bloodsucker.

"He's over there!" Tory pointed toward the back of the cave where a pile of wreckage was heaped in the corner. She struggled to untangle herself from the chandelier as Edgar brought his flashlight around just in time to see Ian's booted feet lash out at thin air before he was dragged out of sight.

There had to be another tunnel.

"C'mon!" Edgar growled as he hoisted his brother up. They only had seconds to save Ian and time was ticking.

"Move, move, move!" Edgar hustled his butt to what looked to be some sort of destroyed elevator shaft but even with his flashlight lighting the way he had a hard time trying not to trip over random objects that were strewn across his path like a mock minefield.

"Ian!" Allan yelled as he raced after his brother. A muffled response came from the shaft followed by a scary as hell animal growl.

Shit!

"Hang on Ian!" Edgar called out as he groped at his vest for a long-distance weapon. He had no idea how he was going to save Ian. All he knew was that he had to try to get him out of that hell hole.

"It could be a trap!" Allan made a grab for his brother's arm in order to hold him back for a second. They had no idea what was in that hole. The vampire could have set this whole thing up just for them to meet their ends in some horrible freak accident. But they didn't have time to think things through or come up with some sort of battle strategy. Ian was in that hole and they had to get him out. The longer they waited the less likely they'd ever see their friend again alive.

"I'm goin' in." Edgar squared his shoulders. He had made up his mind. If he died, he'd have died doing the right thing.

"Outta my way!" Tory bulled through the Frogs and shoved them out of her way as she raced up the rocky ramp like a woman possessed. Without so much as a backward glance Tory let out a wordless yell and dove right into the black hole in the wall. The Frogs stood there stunned. She didn't even have a weapon with her.

Great. Now they would have to save both of them. That night was just getting better and better by the minute.

Indeed it was.

"C'mere you creep! Let him go! Oh you think I'm scared of you? Your face looks like my grandmother's ass you asshole! C'mere! I'm not finished with you! Take that you sonofabitch! And that! Want s'more? DO YA? He's. Mine. And. You. Can't. Have. Him. Ya you heard me! Owwww! That was my fuckin' tit! RAPIST! I'm gonna rearrange you're god-damn face! IAN, SHUT UP! _GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!_"

Yells, screams, snarls, roars, shrieks and growls echoed out of the elevator shaft as some sort of close contact fight went on in the cramped darkness. The Frogs crept closer as they listened to the brawl going on. They had no idea who was winning but between Ian's hollering and Tory's battle monologue it sounded like Dwayne was getting the worst of it.

"Should we go in there?" Allan asked once they reached the mouth of the shaft. The brother peered into the tunnel but they could see nothing but pure black.

"Are you crazy?" Edgar responded as the sounds of the scuffle died down. A heavily silence settled around them as they waited for some sort of sign that would let them know if Ian and Tory were still alive. They waited in tense anticipation. Nothing. The only sound that reached their ears was a faint ruffling of feathers from a few roosting pigeons overhead.

"Do you think…?"

Allan and Edgar looked at each other before they shone their flashlights down the shaft. They really didn't want to see their friends remains strewn all over the place but they had to know.

"Get that light out of my eyes!" Tory's voice snapped at them and despite themselves the Frog brothers exhaled a sigh of relief. "Give Ian a hand. He's a mess."

Edgar and Allan reached into the tunnel and hoisted a shaking and stuttering Ian out while Tory hauled herself out. She made it a point to ignore the helping hand that Edgar offered. Instead she crawled out on her hands and knees with cobwebs and bits of dried mud stuck in her hair.

"Fat lot of help you guys were." Tory grumbled as she tried to dust off her jeans but her pants were scuffed and torn all over the place. Great, now she was going to have to throw them out and they were her favourite pair too. Damn.

"Hey, we were doing our best." Edgar replied but Tory waved him away.

"Ever think that maybe your best isn't good enough?"

"T-t-t-Tory." Ian swallowed hard as Allan led him over to one of the random chairs that were strewn about the cave and sat him down. He couldn't stop shaking. Allan pulled out a thin pen-light from one of his many pockets and quickly flashed it in his face in order to check to see if he had been bitten. Other than a small gash on his cheek and a whole lot of dirt Ian seemed to be alright. A lock of his hair however had turned a light silver which stood out against his natural dark brown colour. A near death experience often had that effect on people, especially ones that were as jumpy as Ian was.

"Is he alright?" Tory scratched her head and came away with a chunk of dirt that was just nasty. Ugh, gross!

"How did you do that?" Edgar asked as he looked at Tory and then at the shaft opening. She had gone in there without a light or any sort of vampire killing device and had come out without a scratch. Not only that but she had saved Ian in the process.

"That? Oh please Edgar that guy wasn't as tough as he looked. A good kick to the spine and he went down like a diva." She flicked a strand of hair out of her eyes and gave Edgar one hell of a smug smirk. What was that now? Tory three Frog Brothers zero?

Edgar couldn't look away. He just stared at Tory with his mouth hanging open somewhat. However what Tory mistook for awe was really surprise mixed with fear and disappointment.

"Want me to sign your stake?" She chuckled.

Edgar back away slowly.

"What?"

Why the hell was Edgar giving her the stink eye? What? She'd saved Ian's life. So what? Wasn't as if he would have done it. So what gives?

Hmph! Tory should call him on it. Yeah! That's exactly what she'd do. She was getting a little tired of Edgar Frog's pms'ing mood swings. Just because out of the four of them she was the only one who had the smarts and the skills to put foot to ass didn't mean he had the right to treat her like some sort of freak. Oh she'd give him freak all right.

"Edgar, what is your deal?" Tory crossed her arms over her chest.

But just like some poorly timed B-rated horror film where the virgin heroine thinks that the killer is dead but is in fact still alive, she didn't get to inquire further as to why Edgar was staring at her like she had grown a second head. Right on cue came a vengeful growl and out from the darkness a battered looking Dwayne flew out of the shaft. With fangs bared and claws out he went straight for Tory who had her back turned to the opening.

Before anyone could say "look out" or "holy shit" or "not again" the vampire was on top of her.

"You're going to pay for that bitch!" Dwayne hissed as he grabbed her by the throat. Tory wheezed as she tried to break his hold but she just wasn't strong enough. Dwayne squeezed and nearly succeeded in crushing her larynx before anyone had enough sense to do what they all did best. Scream.

And guess what? Dwayne screamed right along with them.

Why?

Because he had a six foot piece of brass bed frame shoved right through the center of his torso. That's why.

How?

The answer stood right behind him.

"Y'know what? You're the bitch Dwayne. That's for not giving a damn." Sarah snorted stepped out from behind him and grabbed his arm. His screams of pain went on mute as he looked down at her, horrified at the fact that a metal spike stuck out of his chest. Sarah flashed him her best "fuck you ass-wipe" smile before she grabbed his wrist and twisted. Bones snapped, he screeched and Tory stumbled away clutching her throat.

"Don't like it huh? Neither did I! And guess what Dwayne? It turns out that I'm not some sort of fragile plaything and yeah, I'm gonna survive the month. So fuck you!" Sarah snarled as she grabbed the bloodied make-shift stake from the front and pulled.

Boy can vampires really scream.

Ian, Tory and the Frog Brothers clamped their hands over their ears as the piercing shrieks threatened to burst their eardrums.

A vicious look of utter glee was etched onto Sarah's deformed face as she yanked all six feet of twisted metal right out of Dwayne's chest. Blood and bits of gore splattered onto her as Dwayne clawed at the large hole in his chest. Sarah could see right through him it was that clean.

"Oh and one more thing." Sarah sneered as she twirled the pole in her hands and drove the jagged edge right into his snarling face as hard as she could. Just like a hot poker through a greasy hog the brass pole turned javelin nailed him right in the kisser and continued on through. Boy did that shut him up. "I never liked you anyway."

Dwayne got served.

Lincoln would have been so proud.

Sarah's grin was as smug as hell as she watched Dwayne slowly crumple to the ground like a marionette with snipped strings. _Ker-plop!_ And he was down for the count.

Man that felt so good!

"So," Sarah licked the blood off her fingers as she turned around, "is everyone okay?"

Four sets of eyes just stared at her as reality slowly sunk in.

"Is that a yes?" Sarah asked as she peeled what looked to be a piece of Dwayne's stomach lining off her jacket.

"Vampire!" Edgar and Allan both hollered at the same time as they went for their stakes. Ian just sat where he was and stared at Sarah with eyes as big as a raccoons while Tory rolled her eyes and snatched the wooden stake right out of Edgar's grip before he could do anything stupid with it.

"Edgar please." Tory kept the stake out of his reach as he tried to take it back.

"But she's a vampire! She'll kill us! We've got to stake her!" Allan exclaimed as he rushed to his brother's defense.

Instead of going all angry vampire or throwing a defensive hissy fit Sarah just arched an eyebrow. _Oookay?_

"Sure you do Allan. That's why she just saved my life. So that she could kill me." Tory commented as Edgar finally gave up and unearthed one of the holy water grenades instead.

"That's exactly why she did it. You can't trust a bloodsucker as far as you can stake them." Edgar growled darkly as he readied to throw the water balloon at Sarah.

"You know if I didn't know you I probably would have done it. But," Sarah shrugged as her face morphed back to normal, "you're my friends and I wasn't about to let this jerk-off get his jollies on."

She looked down at Dwayne's body and gave him a nice hard kick in the ribs.

"But you have fangs! And you just killed that guy! And…and…vampire!" Allan exclaimed with some serious dramatic finger pointing. Now that the danger was over he sure had a lot to say.

"Yeah I am. And I'm your friend remember?" Sarah pointed out as she picked her way down the rubble with ease and headed to where Ian sat. The Frogs kept well away from her but followed her at a distance with their weapons drawn and ready. "Look guys. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it days ago. But I didn't. And I don't. So can you guys chillaxe for a sec and hear me out? Kay?"

She paused beside the fountain and placed her hands on her hips. If the Frogs really wanted to go through with their "kill all vampires" routine she presented the perfect target.

"Well?"

"You've got two minutes." Edgar mulled over what she said and realized that despite his instinctive urge to stab a stake in her chest he was curious. Something about what she said caught his interest. He'd give her the benefit of a doubt and then he'd stake her.

"Sure." Sarah shook her hands and quickly looked around the cave. "Before I say anything I just want to make one thing clear. You guys know that Tory's a half-vamp right?"

"What?"

"I knew it!"

"Hey!"

"WHAT!"

"Oh thanks a whole freaking lot."

"Tory!"

"I told you! I was right!"

"It's no big deal. Honestly."

"Ha!"

"Yeah I heard you the first time."

"**NO BIG DEAL!"**

Sarah winced as Ian hit an octave that made her ears ring just a bit.

"Okay. Okay. Calm down. Everyone just calm down. It's okay. Honestly, it's alright. You can still save her." Sarah motioned to Ian to sit back down but Ian wasn't having any of it. His eyes were glued on Tory who stood by the ramp, inspecting her nails in order to avoid his eyes.

"Oh yeah? And how are we supposed to do that?" Allan barked as Edgar edged away from Tory. This time he moved to the other side of the cave. It was the only spot that wasn't near a potential man-killer or a certified suck monkey.

Sarah looked at Allan and then over at Tory.

"Is this guy for real?"

"Yep." Tory nodded and went back to picking at her nails that were somehow two inches longer than usual.

"Um, okay. Something called a head vampire. Ever heard of it?" Sarah began before Edgar interrupted.

"We know about that." He muttered as he reached into his supplies pack and pulled out a thin plastic sleeve that housed a copy of "Vampires Everywhere". "Page 11. It's all in here."

"Okay so you know that you have to kill the Head in order to save all half vampires from ending up like me? That makes this somewhat easier." Sarah blew her bangs out of her eyes as she sat down on the edge of the fountain with a huff. "The only problem is trying to kill this guy."

"How hard can it be? I mean Tory nearly killed him last night. We could take him." Allan stated as he lowered his stake but didn't sheath it.

Sarah gave him a sharp calculating look. "What?"

"Yeah. Tory almost killed David. With the gun." Ian spoke up. He finally tore his eyes away from Tory and didn't see her visibly relax as he regarded Sarah with some confusion. Tory was a half vampire? That explain quite a bit but…a half vampire? This was bad. This was very very bad. Why hadn't she told him? Damn it he should have known something like this was up.

Sarah shook her head.

"It's not David. Oh yeah he may act like he's the Big Shit around here but he's nothing. No, the guy we need to kill is Max. Y'know that bastard who has the video store on the Warf? The one with the white hell hound that looks like a shepard? Him. He's the one."

"Max? As in VideoMax Max?" Allan scowled as he went over the events of the past evening in his head. He and Edgar had gone into the video store to scope out the blond vampire. He had a definite confirmation with the reflection check. But Max hadn't come up on the radar. As far as Allan could remember he had a reflection. "But I saw him in the mirror. He can't be a vampire."

"Where was this?" Sarah frowned.

"At the store. We followed the dude with the patched jacket figuring that if we I.D'ed him that he'd lead us back to you." Allan quickly explained. That plan had worked only the end result hadn't quite turned out as they had hoped.

"Pretty smart." Sarah nodded her head. "But he would show up in a mirror there. The store's his sanctuary. There are windows and television screens everywhere. People would notice pretty quick if his reflection didn't show up. And since he owns the place…"

"He passed the test. Huh." Allan made a mental note to write that down. That was a valid point that he was going to have to remember for the future. Vampire property meant that the reflection identification test was null and void. The comic books never mentioned anything about that.

"Yeah. So he's the one we gotta kill and we have to do it tonight. As in right now. Trust me on this one." Sarah rose to her feet and tucked a strand of hair behind her right ear. "So are you guys in?"

Edgar stepped forward yet there was nothing helpful about his expression.

"Why should we help you? I don't even trust you. You're one of them. This could be a set-up to catch us off guard."

"Listen Edgar. You don't like me because of what I am. I get that. But we don't have any time. The sooner we can get to Max the sooner we can end this nightmare. I can't do it alone and if you have any chance of saving Tory now's the time to do it. You won't get a better chance at this guy. Trust me I know." Sarah tried to reason with him. The only way that she was ever going to get through the that guy was to make him see reason. C'mon it wasn't that difficult. Kill the bad guy, save the day. Pretty straightforward and to the point.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because smart one he's a _Head Vampire_. The real deal. The big scary vampire that makes other vampires do what he wants them to do. Right now there is something big going on topside and I have to be there. Don't ask me how I know because I just do. I can feel it. And so can Tory." Sarah nodded in Tory's direction.

All eyes swiveled onto Tory who looked like she wanted to strangle Sarah.

"Why'd you bring me into this?" Tory growled under her breath.

"Well, tell them. Back me up on this one. I know you can feel the pull." Sarah placed her hands on her hips, undeterred by the negative vibes that Tory sent her way. It was going to take a lot more than that to make her back down now.

Ian closed his eyes for a moment and breathed in deeply. This was just spiraling out of control too quickly. "Tory what's she talking about?"

Tory said nothing. She just looked at her boots and then at the ceiling and then at the large poster of Jim Morrison that was staring down at them with unreadable eyes.

"Tory, what's going on?" Ian asked once more.

"Fine! You wanna know, then fine." Tory threw her hands in the air in defeat. "There's some weird mental thing going on in my head. It's been going on all night. I dunno what it is but there's this feeling that there's somewhere else I have to be at right now. And it's getting urgent. Happy?"

Ian just looked at her.

"Why didn't you say anything about this before?"

Good point. Why had she kept quiet all evening? This was kind of important after all.

"Oh Ian if I had do you really think that those two eager beavers would have let me anywhere near this place? They would have tried to make me look like that guy." Tory motioned to where Dwayne lay in a bloodied heap with a wave of her hand. "I really don't feel like dealing with stakes tonight and don't you dare try to deny it Edgar. You know you would have tried to pull something stupid. Heaven forbid you should take a second and think things through. You're all "shoot first ask questions later."

"The Frogs fine! But I would have understood! Tory I'm your best friend. I would have listened. I wouldn't have said anything. Don't you trust me anymore?" The hurt in Ian's voice was obvious. Sarah stood there, her attention going from Ian to Tory and back again, while the Frogs busied themselves by taking a mental note of their weapons stock. The conversation had taken a turn into awkward territory and they wanted to stay out of it.

Tory refused to meet Ian's eyes. "I didn't tell you because I knew you'd get worried and then paranoid."

"So?!"

"So? Ian we're dealing with monsters here! You wouldn't have lasted five minutes if your head wasn't properly screwed on your shoulders. Hell you were almost turned into dinner tonight. I was looking out for you! I was trying to protect you okay? Sue me!" Tory explained as she stomped off so that she didn't have to face Ian any longer. God why couldn't he just take the hint and understand already?

"Protect me? I should be the one protecting you!" Ian exclaimed loudly in an attempt to keep the conversation going. He wasn't about to let her end it again because she didn't feel like dealing with reality. No. They were going to stand there and talk things out damn it!

"Ian, what makes you think that you can protect me?" Tory shot back with a harsh snort as she flopped down on a two-seater couch that had certainly seen better days. Yet even she couldn't ignore the hurtful look on Ian's face as he flinched under her words. That was just low, even for her. "Ian, I didn't mean it like that. Look, you know I didn't."

"Whatever." Ian didn't want to hear it. He just turned away.

"Are you two finished?" Edgar cleared his throat and tried to be subtle about it.

Tory sighed. She was just too tired to argue with them anymore. "Shut up Edgar."

"Okay people can we focus for a minute? Look I don't have a hopes chance in hell going up against Max by myself. He's caused enough damage and he'll only do more if we don't end it tonight. So are you guys coming with me or are you going to stay here and wait until the others get back? And for the record they are not going to be happy about that." Sarah interjected and nodded at Dwayne.

"But you killed him." Allan pointed out just so that he could get a word in edgewise.

"Yeah, and they'll blame you for it."

"Shit." Allan groaned. Of course they'd blame him. It was total Frog luck. Typical.

"Yeah shit. Really big shit. You guys actually have a chance to do some good here so I suggest you take the offer and save the world or something like that." Sarah said as she eyed the cave entrance. She had to leave. Lincoln's presence pulled hard on her mind and she knew that she had wasted enough time as it was. Lincoln was in trouble. She could feel it. He needed her. She had to go.

Edgar growled.

"I still don't buy this."

Okay. Enough's enough. That Frog was really starting to get annoying.

"Ugh! I'm telling the truth, not that you're ever interested in the truth. I guess the only truth you two idiots know is what you can read out of a stupid comic book. Listen. I'm only going to say this once. There is big trouble going on in Santa Carla and unless you two bozos get your heads out of your butts it's only going to get a hell of a lot worse. Look what happened to me! You think I wanted this? Max did this and he'll do it again and again and again. More people will suffer and lot more will die because of him. You have the chance to kill this sucker and instead of being men about it you rather stick to your stupid fantasies. Y'know what? Fine. Play make-believe for the rest of your lives but remember this. If you don't help me to stop this guy tonight people are going to die. And guess what? It's going to be your fault because you weren't man enough to deal with it. Some vampire killers you two turned out to be."

Sarah fixed Edgar with an eagle eye stare before she turned on her heels and headed for the mouth of the cave. She was through with playing games. She had thought that maybe the Frogs would help her. They were the ones that went on about being defenders of the American way or something like that. Here was their chance to prove it and they wouldn't take it. Well, screw it. She was just going to have to think of something else because these guys were hopeless.

"Why do you want to kill this guy?" Allan piped up as he tried to keep Sarah from leaving. Edgar shot him a look but Allan ignored it. "I mean he's your Maker. Aren't you supposed to be loyal to him or something?"

The snarl that Sarah let out made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

"Max is a foul and convening bastard who takes pleasure in other people's suffering. Max is a killer. Max is a home wrecker. Max is the world's biggest prick. Max must die. Any questions?" Sarah hissed between clenched teeth as Allan got a flash of fangs for his troubles.

"No, no questions." Okay that had been the wrong thing to say.

"Well what about you? Why aren't you saying anything?" Edgar turned his attention onto Tory in an attempt to ignore the fact that Sarah had called him out.

"What do you want me to say? Oh woe is me? Whatever shall I do? Oh please Edgar get a clue." Tory kicked her feet up onto the couch and made herself comfortable. At this rate it'll be dawn before anyone decided to do anything. Let them argue. She was fine right where she was.

"For someone who's half-way to joining the other side you sure don't seem all that surprised or upset." Edgar scowled.

"What? You want me to sit here and cry my eyes out and wait until some dude with a big stick comes riding to my rescue?" Tory snorted as she crossed her hands behind her head. "Edgar unlike the majority of the female population in this crumby little town I don't do the whole "girly thing." So I have some sort of vamp virus in me. Whoop-dee-freakin'-doo. I'm stronger than most people, I'm faster than I've ever been and you know what? It feels _great!_ So excuse me while I enjoy this for as long as I can."

"That's the type of thinking that will condemn you to a life of a souless bloodsucking demon." Edgar spat the words out as if they left a foul taste in his mouth. How could anyone contemplate becoming one of the undead? It was unthinkable!

"And that's the type of thinking that'll make you get "I'm a Warmongering Ignoramus" engraved on your forehead." Tory spat back. She had had just about enough of Edgar's self-righteous mightier-than-thou attitude.

"Hey my brother's right. You think like that and you'll turn vampire no matter what we do." Allan stepped in before Edgar could do or say something that would send Tory into another one of her flying fits of rage.

Edgar and Tory glared at each other from either end of the cave and the looks they gave one another were anything but pretty.

"Well you know what? Maybe I just might." Tory smirked. She knew just how much that would piss off Edgar and she was right. Edgar went a dark shade of maroon when she winked at him

"Tory!" Ian shouted. That was something he did not ever want to hear from her.

"That's not funny!" Edgar shouted as well. Allan had to make a grab for him as his hand snaked to where he kept his garlic bombs.

"Oh? What are you going to do about it? Kill me?" Tory snickered and stayed where she was. Edgar on the other hand stormed over to where she sat with every intention of knocking some sense into her, half-vampire or no.

"Hey! Cool it!" Sarah barked. Her words bounced off the cave walls followed by a growl of warning that made everything stop and take notice. "C'mon that's enough! Look I'm asking you guys for help. I wouldn't be asking if I didn't need it. But if you guys want to stay here and I dunno, kill each other then that's fine. It's your life. But right now I gotta go."

Sarah didn't wait for a response. Something had changed. Lincoln's presence in the back of her mind wasn't as strong as it was moments ago and that alone made her shudder. Something was really wrong.

"Sarah wait!" Ian called out.

Sarah paused at the mouth of the cave for a moment.

"If Max dies then Tory doesn't become a vampire. Right?"

Sarah nodded. "You got it."

"Count me in." Ian made his way to a nearby unlit fire bin and pulled out an untouched piece of flotsam that he broke into two pieces over his knee. With the makeshift stakes in his hands Ian makes his way up the ramp. He didn't look at the Frog Brothers or Tory as he stepped into the darkness and vanished from sight along with Sarah. They left without a sound and Tory and the Frog Brothers were left to fend for themselves.

Talk about awkward.

"See. Look what you did." Edgar huffed as he looked around. The cave was creepier when there was less people in it.

"He's going to get himself killed and then I'm going to feel bad." Tory muttered to herself in a gruff voice as her tough chick persona came out. "Why do I always get myself into these things?"

Tory smoothed out her hair and flipped it over her shoulder before she went over to where her discarded chunk of bedpost lay and picked it up. She had a feeling that she was going to need it.

"Have fun ladies." She gave the Frogs simpering smile before she scampered out of the cave with the wooden bedpost slung over her shoulder. She wasn't about to let Ian get his ass kicked alone on her behalf. She'd feel responsible if that happened. Couldn't have that now.

"Great." Allan crossed his arms over his chest. Now they looked bad. That was just freaking great. "What are we going to do?"

"Do? What can we do?" Edgar said as he stared after Tory.

"Do we even have a chance going up against this guy? I mean, a Head Vampire." Allan ran a hand through his hair. In all of his research there was nothing that ever mentioned a Head Vampire being easily defeated. It had always been accompanied by serious carnage and loss of life. Head Vampires just didn't go out quietly.

"We don't have much of a choice." Edgar inhaled sharply as he squared his shoulders. Like hell was he going to stay there while that infernal woman made a mockery out of him. "We can't stand by while vampires try to destroy our town."

And that was that.

Edgar and Allan lock eyes and nodded simultaneously. Tonight was the night that the Frog Brothers proved to the world that they were worthy of being called Monster Hunters.

"We're awesome monster bashers."Allan growled as he adjusted his green Che Quevara beret.

"The Meanest!"

Edgar curled his right hand into a tight fist and slammed it over his heart while Allan mirrored the move.

"The Baddest."

"Let's go get us a Head Vampire and teach these bloodsuckers the meaning of Frog Justice."

And that's just what they did. They ran to Santa Carla's rescue and came out of the fight as a pair of glorified heroes. The world would forever remember the day the Frog Brothers thwarted Max the Head Vampire.

On a more realistic note the two brothers nearly killed themselves on the slippery rocks before Edgar remember to turn on his flashlight. Once out of the cave the two had to carefully make their way up the precarious staircase that felt like it was a second away from breaking apart and sending them head over heels into the choppy waters below. So by the time Edgar and Allan finally dry land they were both thinking one thing.

This really wasn't such a good idea after all.

"So where to?" Allan asked as Edgar leaned on him for support until he caught his breath. Man, Edgar really was out of shape. Or maybe he was a closet asthmatic.

Tory looked them over with a big old smirk on her face as she drummed her fingers against her make-shift vampire sticker.

"Twinkle Toes said that the funs going down at the train yard. I guess that's where we have to go. So who wants to saddle up and pedal to their deaths?" She asked as Ian made his way to where they were standing, leading a bunch of bikes in his wake.

Joy. More physical exertion.

Edgar groaned.

"Where's Tink? She didn't run the whole way did she?" He squinted as he tried to see if anything was moving on the horizon. With the storm coming in hard it was impossible to see more than ten feet in any direction never mind trying to spot someone in the distance.

"Ahem." Tory jerked upward with her thumb.

Edgar and Allan craned their necks back and watch dumbstruck as a small colourful figure was momentarily illuminated by a fork of lightning that raced across the sky.

Holy shit she was flying!

"Don't tell me you two forgot that vampires can fly." Tory snorted as she grabbed a bike from Ian and hopped on.

"Shut up." Edgar and Allan growled in unison as they watched Sarah vanish into the broiling clouds overhead.

How did she do it?


	19. The Most Epic LB Ending Ever Part One

**Hello Sportsfans!**

**This ending has been re-written more times than I can count on two hands. I decided to cut it into smaller parts so that your brains won't explode like mine did. Four years in the making and it comes down to this. There will be laughter, there will be tears, there will be epic amounts of carnage, there will be glorious cameos, there will be swearing and yes there will be a massive explosion. Enjoy the beginning of the end!**

**Bets are on! Who do you think will be one of the lucky few that will walk out of this story alive?**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

An inhuman snarl ripped through the barren train yard. The sound was awful. Just god awful.

Lincoln laughed.

"Dude. You missed."

The two vampires were both on the ground, crawling about like a pair of drunks. The torn ligaments, pulled hamstrings and shattered cannon bones that they shared just couldn't withstand any more abuse. So now it came down to fighting on their hands and knees like a couple of bratty toddlers throwing a temper tantrum. Pretty fierce for a couple of vampires.

"Will you shut the fuck up already?" David hissed as he whipped a handful of gravel into Lincoln's face in order remove his smug as hell smirk that was starting to really annoy the piss out of him.

Lincoln rolled back onto his ass when one of the tiny missiles nailed his injured eye.

_Ohhhh that stung._

David allowed himself to smile, just for a moment, before the pain overwhelmed him. Lincoln had done a thorough job of rearranging his features. David wasn't sure where his mouth ended and his eye socket began. Truth be told, David wasn't sure of anything anymore. He couldn't stand never mind fly, he was losing blood at an alarming rate, Paul and Marko still hadn't turned up, and if he didn't manage to feed on someone soon he wasn't going to last much longer.

"How did this happen? My plan was perfect!" David muttered to himself as he carefully lifted his right hand and gingerly touched the vertical gash that hollowed out his left cheek.

Lincoln snickered as he flopped onto his back and waited for the world to stop spinning.

"You always thought you were the shit Dave, always. Well guess what, you're not. Get over yourself already." Lincoln lifted his head and stared in David's general direction with his one good eye as something inside his chest popped. Ah, there goes a rib.

David snorted and quickly regretting doing so. The mushy lump of shredded flesh that used to be his right lung twitched in protest and forced David to double over with a pitiful groan. Oh what he wouldn't give for a bloody martini right now, or a bullet between the eyes.

"Fuck you."

They had done a decent job of pulverising each other. Both vampires were in no shape or position to be much of a threat anymore. Now there was only one problem left.

"Out of all the ways I thought I'd go out, I never thought it'd be like this." David spat as his tongue dislodged yet another tooth from his already battered jaw. At least it wasn't a fang.

"What's the matter David? _Scared?_" Lincoln leered from where he lay, unable to do much more than that. He could feel his body trying to knit itself back together but the damage that David had inflicted was just too extensive and he had lost too much blood. Instead of gushing like a geyser blood just trickled and oozed from the various cuts and gashes. What a sad waste of the red stuff.

"Aren't you?" David's probing finger went right through a hole in his left hand, courtesy of Lincoln's big fucking knife. He tried to wriggle his finger and sighed. What a great way to go, in pieces.

Gravel crunched from underneath him as Lincoln heaved himself onto his side and used his good arm to prop up his head. "Dave. We're fuckin' dying here and you're askin' me this now?"

"You brought it up." David played the indifference card and looked the other way. Like hell was he going to give Lincoln the satisfaction of seeing him nervous. He'd die before he let that happen and he wasn't that far off. Wait a second...was that his ear on the clump of dead grass? Aw man!

"Why the hell couldn't you just keep your attention seeking antics out of Santa Carla? What, L.A. wasn't big enough for you to screw around in? After twenty years you still haven't learned to clean up after yourself. No wonder you're a freaking failure."

"Oh cry me a fuckin' river David. You knew I'd pull something but you've got your head shoved so far up Max's ass that you couldn't even see it coming."

"See it coming? How could I not! Wherever you go there's a blood trail a mile wide! What's next? Neon lights? Oh that'll go well with the dead hookers. Real Tom Jones."

"If you had me figured from the start then why didn't ya do anythin' to stop me? Too busy playin' King of the Castle huh? Got a little careless there with your cushy job Dave? Figured you got Santa Carla all under yer thumb? Cause you're all knowing and powerful. You answer to no one! Oh wait, you do! And I bet he's gonna _love_ this when he finds out."

"I'd say the same for you but I guess you're used to getting the shaft from your Old Man by now. What did you in this time? Wipe your ass with a priceless piece of art?"

"Is that honestly the best you can come up with?"

"Oh fuck off Lincoln."

"You fuck off!"

"No, _you_ fuck off!"

"Gonna make me Dave? What, is your mullet a lethal weapon in disguise?"

David closed his eyes and shook his head very slowly so that he didn't dislodge anything important. "I'm dying and arguing with a moron. Why me? How did it come to this? Where did I go wrong?"

Lincoln rolled his one good eye as David continued to complain to himself. Pretty soon the guy was going to start quoting some sort of famous philosophical crap about death and eternity and Lincoln was going to have no other choice but to remove his own brain through his nasal cavity so that he wouldn't have to endure it.

What was it with egotistical vampire bastards and monologuing their last few minutes away with pointless crap?

"Alright I'm gettin' sick of this." Lincoln gritted his teeth and did the unthinkable. He stood up. "Get up."

David arched an eyebrow, what was left of one, and blinked. "Why should I? What, you're going to bleed on me?"

"You're feelin' sorry for yourself and I'm gettin' sick listenin' to it. Get up and we finish this." Vertigo tried to pull him down but Lincoln refused to lose his footing, even if both of his legs were screaming in pain for the second time in 24 hours. He had a job to do. He was going to do it.

David didn't quite feel the same way however.

"I knew you were eager to die but I'm in no hurry."

"Yeah? Well I am. So get off your pasty white ass and hit me with whatever you've got left cause I'm not going out listenin' to you whine all night." Lincoln jabbed his finger in David's direction but that one simple movement took up more effort than he realized. With a hearty "ah shit", Lincoln toppled over and landed on his shattered hip-bone, the one David had managed to crush with a half-broken railroad tie.

_Ahhhhh_kay, that fuckin' hurt.

Now it was David's turn to snicker.

"I can't get up. You can't even stay up. Good plan."

Lincoln groaned as his hand groped around for something just within his reach. Why hadn't he thought of it before?

"Alright you pansy. Here." Lincoln's hand closed around two discarded fragments of half-rotted wood and tossed David one the size of his forearm. Both pieces were sharp enough to get the job done and get it done right. "We can do this two ways. Either we stake ourselves and end this shit or we can ram these things up each other's asses and go out like fuckin' vampires. Which is it gonna be? Cause I ain't hangin' around here long enough to get a freakin' tan."

David looked down at the make-shift stake and considered Lincoln's proposal. Help didn't seem to be on the way so chances were that Lincoln had already killed Marko and Paul. If that were true then all that left was Dwayne, who was too screwed up to be much use to anyone, and Max, who would gladly take David's head off for letting things get out of hand. David could continue to sit around and bleed his way into the Netherworld but as things stood the sun would most likely get him before that happened and as much as David hungered for survival, he did not want to go out via the crispy critter route. Not only was it the most undignified way to go, it was also the most painful. Hmmm pain or some small form of satisfaction?

"Well?" Lincoln asked as he tested the edge of his stake against his thigh.

"Fine, but you're crawling your ass over here." David gripped the wood and squeezed to see if it would splinter under extreme force. Surprisingly it didn't.

"Like hell I am. I thought this up so you can drag your mightier than thou carcass to me." Lincoln grumbled as he grabbed his right ankle and dragged his leg under him so that he could remain in a sitting position.

"We meet in the middle. That or nothing." David scowled.

"Fine. If you want to be a wimp about it," Lincoln muttered, "coward."

"I heard that." David growled before he placed the stake gingerly in his mouth and used his arms to drag himself across the train yard.

"No shit." Lincoln tossed back as he relied in his one good arm and somewhat good leg to dog-squat his way over the gravel patch that he had been resting on.

"This would be a lot more dignified if I could stand and shoot you." David grumbled from behind the chunk of wood between his teeth.

"Yeah, well I left my duelling pistols back in the car. Tough shit." Lincoln winced as his useless left foot snagged on something.

"Are you always this annoying?" David snapped when he spat out the stake and hoisted himself into a sitting position. Behind him the ground glistened with a fresh trail of blood and what looked like bits of internal organs. It was all kind of pretty in the moonlight. Pretty in a morbid sort of way.

"I could ask you....the same...question." Lincoln muttered between clenched teeth as he gave himself a final tug and hauled himself up on one arm.

"So how do you want to do this?" David asked as he picked his stake up and looked at it. So this was the end? What a sad way to go.

"I dunno. Count to three?"

"Real original."

"Got a better idea?"

"If only things turned out my way this wouldn't be happening."

"Well it didn't."

"It never does. No matter what I do, something always screws up. I don't know why."

"Dave," Lincoln snorted, "we're both screw ups. Always have been. Nothin' ever goes right for guys like us."

"Why is that?"

Lincoln shrugged. "Dunno. All I know is that we're not meant to come out on top."

David arch eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Cause if we were, we wouldn't be here."

They looked at each other and for once they didn't don't see two vicious feuding vampires bearing a twenty year old grudge but two tired guys who've been put through the mill. Maybe death would be a better option for them. At least they'd finally get a break. Now wouldn't that be something?

Lincoln caught David's eye and they stared at each other for a long moment. Twenty years and it came down to this. The Big Finish. Should Lincoln say something?

_Naaaaaaah!_

"Right, enough of this sentimental shit. Time to die."

"Who's counting?"

"Screw counting!"

His arm was an indistinctive blur of colour and motion as Lincoln lashed out. David was a half-second faster and rammed his stake right into Lincoln's chest with more force than necessary. There was nothing remorseful about it.

"_AHHHH!!!!_ God **DAMN IT!** Ahhhhh that FUCKIN' hurts! JESUS H CHR…" Lincoln's ungodly howls of pain filled the empty train yard and would have carried on for miles had there been anyone around to hear them. His blood-soaked hands clawed at the splintered end of the stake that protruded from his chest and with a loud snarl of agony he tilted his head forward and looked down.

A small dribble of blood spurted out from between his fingers.

"You **missed**. You actually missed." Lincoln lifted his head and shot David a disgusted glare. "I can't believe you fucking missed! I'm sitting _right here!"_

David looked on in a panic. Lincoln wasn't dead. How could he not be dead?

"What? No I didn't! You moved!" He could have sworn he plunged it into Lincoln's heart. He had wanted to stake that son of a bitch and so he had. This didn't make any sense!

"Does it look like I moved you moron!" Lincoln sneered as he closed his hand around the stake and slowly pried the bloody piece of wood out of his chest. Another spurt of blood squirted out from the wound and splattered onto David as the stake slid out with a wet squelch leaving a great big old gaping hole behind. "Ah fuck man. This hurts like hell."

Lincoln eyed the stake and with a shake of his head he tossed it over his shoulder.

"You're a god-damn moron you know that?"

"Here, let me do it again."

David made a move at Lincoln's stake that lay between them but this time Lincoln was the faster one. He snapped that piece of wood up and all David got was a handful of air.

"What? Oh hell no! I'll stake myself 'cause you can't get your damn aim straight. Hold still."

Lincoln wagged the pointed edge right under what was left of David's nose and the blond vampire lost his nerve right then and there.

"Wait. You know this isn't such a good idea."

"Oh don't you dare wuss out on me now Dave. Take it like a man!" Lincoln raised arm and aimed right at David's chest. Half a second later it would be a done deal. But like anything that involved a life and death bargain things did not turn out as planned. Instead of biting the bullet David grabbed Lincoln's arm and began to grapple with him for it. Neither vampire could move so it turned into some sort of one-armed version of tug of war.

"Quit bein' such a dick David and let me kill you!"

Lincoln wasn't about to give up his claim on the weapon so David did the only thing he could think of. He bent over and bit Lincoln's injured hand as hard as he could. What a fucking cheap shot!

"Sonofabitch!" Lincoln yowled when David's fangs scraped against bone. It hurt so damn much that he didn't realize that the stake had slipped through his fingers until it was too late.

Holding the stake aloft with a satisfied smirk David eyed the stake that he held with what had to be a murderous glee. All too easy. "Do you really think that I'm going to let you kill _me_? Nice try Lincoln."

Lincoln blinked his one good eye and said nothing. What was he going to say? Some sort of clever comeback? Hell he could barely move and David's first attempt at turning him into a make-shift pincushion had taken more out of him than he realized. There was something about having a large chunk of wood shoved through his chest that just didn't sit right with him. So instead he just sat where he was and said nothing.

"Go to hell!" David sneered at Lincoln's silence. Cue in the whole flashing eyes bit and a triumphant snarl and it was pretty much a done deal.

Up went the stake.

Lincoln lifted his one good hand and casually flicked his blood-soaked bangs out of his one good eye as he tilted his head ever so slightly to the side and grinned his jackal grin.

"Sure about that Dave?" He sniffed and made himself comfortable.

The stake didn't come down. In fact in remained frozen in David's hand along with the rest of him. It could have had something to do with the large blood-soaked bowie knife that was pressed against his Adam's apple.

"Drop it or I'll send you to hell without a head you son-of-a-bitch!" Sarah snarled in David's remaining ear. She meant what she said and the razor edge of Lincoln's knife bit through a few layers of skin for emphasis.

Needless to say David did what he was told. The stake clattered to the ground as the knife stayed where it was. Lincoln just sat there and grinned.

"Please tell me you saw that one comin'." He asked as he gingerly touched the hole in his chest and then put his fingers into his mouth in order to suck the blood off them. "Shoo David! You shoulda seen the look on your face! Hah! I swear if I weren't sittin' I'd be down on my ass laughin'."

Lincoln slapped his thigh as his cackling turned into a hacking cough. Ugh, that hurt. He sniffed hard before he horked up something nasty that looked like gods knows what. Piece of a lung? Probably.

"Mmmm." Lincoln motioned with a wave of his hand. Sarah carefully bent over and plucked the stake off the ground before she tossed it to Lincoln. She made sure to stay out of David's line of sight just in case he got any ideas. The knife was pretty convincing but she didn't trust that jackass. On that note she dug the knife a little deeper and a thin trickle of blood began to seep down David's throat as she forced his head back a little more.

"Nicely done there lil' sister. Tell me, how in hell did ya get here so fast?" Lincoln asked innocently as he picked up the stake once again. This time he made sure to keep it out of David's reach. Tricky bastard that David.

"Easy. I flew."

Okay that time David blinked. What?

"You're lookin' a lil' confused there Dave." Lincoln pointed out as he picked his teeth with the tip of the stake. He was really starting to enjoy watching David squirm under the knife. Damn why wasn't there a camera round? That would have made a beautiful picture. One for the album.

Sarah chuckled and there was nothing nice about it.

"Turns out," she hissed in David's ear as she ran her tongue up his neck in order to lap up the small river of blood, "all I needed was a little pixie dust and a shit load of confidence. No thanks to you."

"Amen to that!"

David tried to shoot Lincoln a scathing look but it just rebounded off the tattered vampire. Lincoln flashed him a bloodied smile as he lifted the stake and slowly scratched the back of his neck with it while David's eyes followed every movement.

"What? Shoo Dave, this is why you should always be nice to the young un's. Ya just never know when they'll try to stab you in the back now."

"I hate you." David snarled between clenched teeth as Sarah began to slide the knife along his throat, oh so slowly. The pain was sharp but it wasn't deep. He could feel his blood welling against the thin cut and somehow he knew that Sarah was enjoying every minute of it. That was a thought that shook him to the core. Not that he'd ever admit it out loud but one night with that asshole and Sarah had gone from a timid know-nothing to...to one of them. How was that even possible?

"I think she hates you more."

"You going to kill him?" Sarah growled, her voice low and dangerous. She was getting tired of the waiting game.

Lincoln cocked his head to the left and thought about it.

"Nah, you do it. Make him pay for everythin' he's done wrong." Lincoln ran his tongue of his teeth and winked at Sarah. "Aw, go ahead and show him what ya learned last night."

"Really?" Sarah purred as the tip of the bowie knife pricked the underside of his chin. David didn't dare swallow as Sarah grabbed the long strands of his mullet and wrenched his head all the way back so that he stared up into her face. There was nothing familiar about the face that glowered at him. That right there was a fully fledge vampire, not some whiney-as-hell small fang.

Two words raced across David's mind as he locked eyes with what he had mistaken for a waste of time. _Oh. Shit._

"Surprised?" Sarah asked as she barred her teeth in a sickly sweet smile that made the hair on the back of David's neck stand on end.

"I. Could. Ask you. The same. Question." David managed to utter as he allowed his gaze to drift past Sarah to the presence that appeared behind her.

"Ahem."

Sarah frowned not knowing what David was up to. Was it a trick? Probably. She kept the knife point firmly against his jaw line and looked over her shoulder. Was it Lucard? It had to be. But why didn't she feel him then?

Oh crap.

So not Lucard.

"David. What is going on here?"

Sarah looked at Lincoln.

Lincoln looked at Sarah.

They both looked at David.

All three of them looked over at Max.

There Max stood, impeccably dressed as always with Thorn standing by his side. The Hound of Hell's fur was bristled and Max slid off his bifocals in order to get a better look at the strange tableau before him. He did not look amused.

All eyes slid to David as Max waited for some form of response.

Think David think!

"Uh, not what you think."

Oh boy.


End file.
